U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 14, 2024

Luke Clanton

Hazeltine National Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Hi, Luke. Got the job done today. Just talk us through your round. You were flushing it pretty much all the way until the last couple of holes.

LUKE CLANTON: Yeah, to be honest with you, I kind of flushed it on the last couple of holes too. It was good. It was a very positive day. The first couple of days was a little bit of a grind. I was kind of hitting it okay, and then today was a lot better. My competitor was playing really well also. It was fun.

Again, it's a long week of golf, so I'm not really looking too forward right now. I'm staying in my zone and kind of just keep going and doing. Get some food with mom and dad and sister and kind of hang out.

Q. How cool is it to have the whole family here and all of that support?

LUKE CLANTON: Yeah, especially my sister. She's been a number one fan for a while now. She's been awesome with everything and super supportive. Same with Pops and Mom. It's been awesome.

Q. What did you think of that video we put out yesterday with your sister, the birdie on 10?

LUKE CLANTON: Yeah, I liked it a lot. It was good. Made sure I made birdie on that hole. It was good, man. She deserves everything she gets. She's the best, man.

Q. You've had this event circled on your calendar all year. Obviously you played TOUR events, but what does it mean to be in the Am and now win a match?

LUKE CLANTON: Yeah, again this is the furthest I've ever made it in the U.S. Am, so it's a big positive for me. Again, it was the number one tournament for me all summer. To be here now and playing well and doing what I'm doing, we'll see how it goes.

Q. Speaking of your summer, you traveled to a bunch of TOUR events. I know you've been in the Midwest a lot. Did you ever get out here at all, or was your first time on property yesterday?

LUKE CLANTON: No, I got out here. I got out on the weekend and played out here. It's incredible, the history behind this whole golf course and everything here. It's just awesome.

Q. How many times you play here, just around once?

LUKE CLANTON: One round at 6:15 in the morning.

Q. What did you think of the course that you weren't necessarily expecting that would kind of help you coming into this week, especially the start time for you?

LUKE CLANTON: The other golf course, I had no clue where to hit it, like honestly. Out here it's just tough. You've got to hit it in the fairway. Those last two holes, I kind of screwed it up because I got off the green and those chips aren't fun.

Tomorrow I'm going to stick to the same game plan I've had and keep going.

Q. For you energy-wise, you get here, you get through stroke play, and now you're just playing against the guy next to you. Is it easier in a way if you're a little jet lagged or just the grind?

LUKE CLANTON: It's still hard no matter what. Every single person in the field is really good at golf. I keep saying it, it doesn't matter who you're playing against. It's match play, and anything can happen.

I'm just pumped to keep going on and keep playing good golf. If I lose, I lose. To me golf doesn't define who I am and what I do, and it's just awesome to be here.

Q. Is it going to be nice tonight to get a little bit of rest before possibly another 36-hole day tomorrow?

LUKE CLANTON: Yeah, I'm just going to get back and probably play some college football honestly, just kind of chill out. It's going to be nice to actually get some time off and hang out with a couple of my buddies from home and relax.

Q. Do you have dynasty mode going or just playing exhibition?

LUKE CLANTON: I've got everything you can imagine. I spend too much time on that game, to be honest.

Q. OC or head coach?

LUKE CLANTON: Head coach, vertical, everything. I was the Florida State head coach. We did pretty good.

No, it's to get relaxed, man. It's just awesome. I play with my buddies every single day, and it's awesome stuff.