A two-time All-American and the 1996 Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year! Yes, that is Tiger Woods, whose impressive amateur career surprised everyone even before his phenomenal 28-year-long professional career. But now, a certain amateur golfer has come forward to humble the legendary athlete. Enter a young Luke Clanton!

At the John Deere Classic, the 20-year-old athlete dished out four birdies in the last five holes of his final day’s play. This helped him become the first amateur golfer to finish in the top 10 (tied for second with C.T. Pan and Michael Thorbjornsen) in back-to-back PGA Tour starts since 1958, thanks to his Sunday figures of 8-under 63. The golfer carded a total of 26 birdies, eight of which came on Sunday alone.

His previous top-10 finish came at the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he finished T10, tied with six other athletes. He had registered a score of 14-under overall, with rounds of 69-68-65-72 over the four days of play. Interestingly, this was only his third professional event, the first being the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

Returning to his recent feat, Clanton managed to achieve what had not been done in over six decades on the men’s circuit; the last time being in 1958. Back then, Billy Joe Patton had secured two top-10 placements in back-to-back Tour starts at the 1957 U.S. Open and the 1958 Masters Tournament. While Tiger Woods boasts six USGA Amateur wins, he does not have the same achievement that the young athlete has now secured.

“We came into the week with pretty high expectations,” said the 20-year-old before adding, “I think I kind of reached that expectation for sure. Of course, you want to win. But again, to do what I did out there today was awesome. It’s just a blessing to be here, man.” He certainly earned the right to say so with a scintillating performance and a record that even Woods hasn’t managed to achieve!

Luke Clanton’s ‘Tiger Woods humbling feat’ and its result

Clanton’s recent feat has helped him gain nine points in the PGA Tour University Accelerated program. This program allows college golfers who reach 20 points to earn Tour status based on their achievements in various professional and amateur events. An athlete earns a point for every cut made on the circuit and another point for a top-10 finish.

Clanton is now closer to PGA Tour status by earning four points in two weeks. Moreover, he is now placed third in the WAGC and is the highest-ranked golfer in the NCAA rankings. It truly seems that the athlete is just at the beginning of a wonderful career in the game!