Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, poses with the Putter Boy trophy with the Putter Boy statue after winning the 122nd Men's North & South Amateur Sunday at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club on Course No. 2. Clanton defeated Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, 1-up.
Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, and his caddie, Jason Wiertel, embrace at the conclusion of the final round at the 122nd Men’s North & South Amateur Sunday.
Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, gives a thumbs up on the fifth hole during the final round at the 122nd Men’s North & South Amateur Sunday on Pinehurst No. 2. Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, defeated Morrison, 1-up.
Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, and Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, embrace after the final round at the 122nd Men’s North & South Amateur Sunday.
Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, poses with the Putter Boy trophy with the Putter Boy statue after winning the 122nd Men's North & South Amateur Sunday at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club on Course No. 2. Clanton defeated Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, 1-up.
No flagstick, even the ones tucked behind bunkers with just a few feet of turf between hole and hazard, were safe from the approach shots from Luke Clanton fired at them Sunday in the championship match of the 122nd North & South Amateur on Pinehurst No. 2.
But there was one safe play Clanton took because he knew the situation.
Seventeen holes of aggressive lines into the greens gave some leeway for the future Florida State golfer to finally play it safe on an approach shot into the middle of the 18th green, with opponent Tommy Morrison unraveling. Lining up his longest putt of the morning, Clanton nestled his third stroke from more than 40 feet away close enough to bring the match to close out the match for a 1 up victory after Morrison missed his bogey putt.
“All week, I’ve been flying at flags. My caddie has not been trying to make me play safe and I love that. I think I was hitting it good enough this week to do that,” Clanton said. “I think I was 6-under-par today. It was unbelievable. Tommy is one helluva golfer. I’ve never played a match like that before in my life. I’ve never had to make so many birdies to tie so many holes before in my life.”
Both finalists are close friends, and the duo produced a crowd-pleasing final with a combined 11 birdies and a conceded eagle from the pair. The week of the North & South started seven days ago for both players, playing in a practice group together on course No. 2 last Sunday, and that’s where the week ended for Morrison and Clanton.
Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, and Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, embrace after the final round at the 122nd Men’s North & South Amateur Sunday.
Timothy L. Hale /Special to The Pilot
“I love him. He’s my best friend,” Clanton said. “I was pretty emotional about it last night just thinking about how this is an awesome moment for me and him, especially.
“He came up to me at (Sunnehanna Amateur) and said, ‘My game is there.’ I said, ‘I knew it.’ And I saw it this week and saw it in person.”
Morrison’s torrid back nine was cooled late in the round, but not before a stretch of five putts on a five-hole stretch. A tee shot deep into the woods right of the 18th fairway quickly had the hottest player on the golf course contemplating how to extend the tied match to the 19th hole.
“I had a gap to where I could get it to the left side of the green,” Morrison said. “Luke had like a pitching wedge into the green. He’s going to hit to the middle and two putt, and I felt like that was the right choice.”
The towering Texan’s shot from the trees attempting to go over the top of the Pine-laden canopy clipped a limb and landed nearly fully blocked out by a Pine tree. Clanton was already on the 18th green staring at more than 40 feet of green to putt for birdie, putting the pressure on Morrison to advance his ball to the green, which he did, only for it to roll of the back and onto the cart path between the onlookers on the veranda and the turf.
A free drop had Morrison more than 20 feet away from bogey, which missed long, and closed out the match with his concession.
Shot after shot from the irons and wedges of Clanton continued to take the same line as he had taken all week. They produced the results needed as he opened with back-to-back birdies for halved holes on Nos. 3 and 4. A second shot inside of 10 feet for his first win of the match on the par-5 fifth.
Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, plays his shot from the 18th tee Sunday.
Timothy L. Hale /Special to The Pilot
Sticking to his game plan, the eventual champion’s shots into the green were answered by lengthy putts from Morrison as his putter started to smolder midway through the round.
A downhill putt for birdie from Morrison on the par-3 9th hole tied the match entering the back nine. That became a common theme for the next four holes.
Even after Clanton threw darts onto the greens with ease, Morrison’s flat stick produced four straight birdies, starting with that 2 on the ninth hole.
“I didn’t make too many this morning, so it felt due. Obviously four in a row, it was just a cherry on top,” Morrison said.
With the four straight birdies, the lead went from Clanton 1 up to Morrison leading 1 up, and they came at a prime opportunity.
Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, putts on the 12th green during the final round at the 122nd North & South Amateur Sunday.
Timothy L. Hale/Special to The Pilot
“Gosh, they needed to go in because we took it to the 18th hole. It was a special round,” Morrison said. “If you told me I was going to shoot a 67 today and lose, I probably would’ve argued with you. It was a very good match. Luke and I played some really great golf and Luke had a couple less mistakes than I did.”
Clanton had his answer to birdies on Nos. 10 and 12. Both players found the parts of a 10th green that only true marksmen can find, Clanton at about 10 feet out, and Morrison down a ridge and about double the length. It didn’t matter for the Texas commit, as he rolled in a birdie putt, only for Clanton’s putt to top it. The same seemed to happen two holes later, with Morrison’s uphill putt finding the cup, and an answer came quickly, and with less crowd acknowledgment for Clanton’s 3.
“I was talking to my caddie (Jason Wiertel) saying, ‘We can’t do anything about that.’ And he told me on 14, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to stay strong. If we can finish strong here, we can do it,’” Clanton said.
Like always, caddies know best.
Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, and his caddie, Jason Wiertel, embrace at the conclusion of the final round at the 122nd Men’s North & South Amateur Sunday.
Timothy L. Hale /Special to The Pilot
Wiertel took in the moment of the championship being won by Clanton, but quickly made an exit for an afternoon loop. This time for his daughter, Lucy, playing in a U.S. Kids Golf tournament at Longleaf Golf and Family Club.
“He just ran over to just go caddie for his daughter now. He missed the first two holes for me. Coming down the stretch, he told me, ‘I’ve got to stay with you now,’ Clanton said. “I can’t thank him enough, and he’s definitely going to be on my bag a lot more for sure.”
The match went even on No. 13, even though Morrison had his fifth straight 1-putt. But it came in the form of a sand save with a tricky downhill putt instead of a birdie. Clanton’s approach attacked the flag on the right side of the green, per usual, and found a flat area on the scant stretch of green right of the flag to set up his fifth birdie.
Like Clanton trying to zone out the run of birdie putts around the turn, Morrison tried to focus on his approach of “hitting greens,” which he hit 11 of the 18 greens officially. His ball rested just off the green on the 12th hole.
Thomas Morrison, of Dallas, Texas, gives a thumbs up on the fifth hole during the final round at the 122nd Men’s North & South Amateur Sunday on Pinehurst No. 2. Luke Clanton, of Hialeah, Florida, defeated Morrison, 1-up.
Timothy L. Hale /Special to The Pilot
“He had a couple where he went after it and I didn’t think you could hit it left or right of the pin and he did. Meaning he hit it very close on some aggressive lines, and that’s what you have to do to win a golf tournament,” Morrison said. “I thought about going at a couple more pins on the back, but it had worked for us the entire match play so we wanted to keep doing what we were doing.”
Family was on Clanton’s mind at times leading up to and during the round Sunday. His cousin, Cydney Clanton, won the 2010 North & South Women’s Amateur, before turning pro 2012. In the moments after embracing Morrison and Wiertel, his mother, girlfriend and others who supported him were the first ones he looked to find in the crowd on the 18th green.
“This is going to be a big one for me. I won a couple months ago at the Azalea and I knew my game was trending in the right way,” Clanton said. “The support that I got this week was unbelievable and I can’t thank them enough for sure.”
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