Expectations aside, true priorities can sometimes surprise the world. This is evident from Luke Clanton’s recent announcement. The 20-year-old amateur golfer has been performing well, despite dropping out of the top 40 at the US Open in June.

Last week, he finished T10 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, which could have earned him around $250,700, and just hours ago, he finished T2 at the John Deere Classic, which would have earned him a whopping $872,000. Technically, Clanton should have received a $918,233 paycheck from these events. However, since Clanton remains an amateur, he will not receive these sums, but it seems this is not his primary focus.

Luke Clanton prioritizes winning a National Championship

The official Instagram page of SiriusXM PGATour shared an audio recording from a recent interview of Luke Clanton with ESPN Caddie and Jason Sobel. The Florida player said, “I said this multiple times to everybody, but I think I want to win a national championship with Florida State for sure. I think the guys we have on my team right now are insane.”

Clanton is currently pursuing his degree at Florida State University and is also on the golf team. Despite already having won four events with the team Seminole Boosters, his current aim is to lift a trophy with his friends. Clanton added, “I got 12 guys that I’m all really good friends with and we all have a blast and I don’t want to get rid of all of that anytime soon.” Although turning pro would advance his career, it’s not on his priority list right now.

He concluded, “And it’s one of the things where I know that you know, that the PGA Tour is right there for me in the future and I can get there. And you know if I have to wait a little bit, it’s fine.” Clanton holds the single-season record for the lowest average in Florida State University history, with a 69.33 over 40 rounds. He also became the first Seminole to win three events back-to-back, securing victories at the Seminole Intercollegiate, Valspar Collegiate Invitational, and Lewis Chitengwa Memorial.

He will also be competing at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky on a sponsor exemption. As an amateur, he will have the ‘a’ next to his name. Despite the competitive pressure, he cherishes his amateur status and wishes to turn pro only after completing all four years of college. But then, why enter the course right after his sophomore year?

Luke Clanton’s motive to play with the pros: Having fun on the course

At the John Deere Classic, he was just four strokes away from the champion, Davis Thompson. Nonetheless, for a junior player, he finished the event with a 24-under par, setting high standards for an amateur golfer. It seems that just ‘having fun’ on the course is working wonders for him. Due to his performance, Luke Clanton was invited to join the Palmer Cup team, representing the US.

However, the No. 1 Amateur golfer in Golfweek declined the opportunity, missing the chance to play with some of the best professionals in the golfing world. He said, “I’m having fun out there no matter what. To make some birdies on the side is pretty sweet, no doubt, but I am just having a lot of fun. I got a close group and those guys are brothers to me, so it’s awesome that they reach out all the time. It’s pretty cool.”