Two of the top amateurs left Torrey Pines one step closer to their PGA Tour cards.
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Luke Clanton and Jackson Koivun were not factored which Harris English won – but no. 1 and no. The top 2 men’s amateur players still had a successful week at Torrey Pines.
21-year-old Clanton and 19-year-old Koivun gritted their teeth and battled tough conditions at Torrey Pines to make the cut in securing the Farmers Open, win another University PGA Tour Accelerated Points and inch closer to their PGA Tour cards in the process.
Koivun birdied two of his last three holes Thursday to finish one stroke over the cut, while Clanton finished the first two rounds three shots clear. The cut gave both Clanton and Koivu 18 of the 20 PGA Tour University Acceleration Points needed to earn their cards.
Clanton, a Florida State Seminole, and Koivun, an Auburn Tiger, might have secured their cards with a five-five finish, but neither had a weekend to remember. The 21-year-old Clanton shot 1 over the weekend to finish in a tie for 15th at 1-underwhile Koivun shot a 6-over-par 78 in the final round to finish T56.
Clanton and Koivun took different paths up the accelerated ladder of the University PGA Tour.
Clanton became a fixture on the PGA Tour leaderboards last summer. The Florida State junior has posted four top-10 finishes in nine PGA Tour starts. This included race finishes in the John Deere Classic and RSM Classic. He has won 13 of his 18 points in PGA Tour play. Clanton chose to return to school for his junior season to try and win an NCAA championship after losing in last year’s title game to Koivu and the Tigers.
Koivun, meanwhile, became the first rookie to win all three Player of the Year awards — Haskins, Nicklaus and Hogan — and the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s first rookie. Those awards earned him 11 points.
Despite leaving Torrey Pines two shots shy of their tournament cards, both Clanton and Koivun should be able to score two more points in the coming months. When they do, they will have the option to either join the PGA Tour after their collegiate season or defer their card and return to college.
Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent, who earned his PGA Tour card through the accelerated college points program, deferred his membership for a year to return for his senior season.
Sargent will join the PGA Tour after the Commodores’ season ends, and he will likely be joined by Koivun and Clanton this year or next.
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