Luke Clanton

Luke Clanton reaching the No 1 spot on the world amateur rankings in August could not have been timed better - just one week later the holder of the position was awarded the Mark McCormack Medal and with it earned invitations to The Open and US Open.

A month earlier Florida State University student Clanton had become the first amateur since 1958 to record top 10 finishes in back-to-back PGA Tour events. Following on from his joint 41st place at the US Open he tied for 10th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and then shared second place in the John Deere Classic, where he missed out on a place at Royal Troon only because CT Pan alongside him had a higher world ranking.

His next start on the circuit was the Wyndham Championship in August and after a third round 62 posted a fifth place finish to climb to 140th on the rankings. Prior to the US Open two months earlier he was not even in the leading 1,000.

Adding the US Amateur title would have completed a dream summer, but he went out in the last 32 to eventual semi-finalist Jackson Buchanan.