Luke Clanton headlines Ben Hogan Award watch list; has he already won it?

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Luke Clanton was among 35 names selected to the first Ben Hogan Award watch list of the year.

But has the Florida State junior already locked up the award?

Let’s discuss:

The Hogan Award is determined by a selection committee and handed out annually to the top college player while considering all competition – college, amateur and pro – since the last Hogan Award was awarded. So, last year’s NCAA Championship marks the first counting event, and results will be considered until this year’s winner is announced on May 19 ahead of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.

Clanton was T-2 at that NCAA Championship, which helped spark a scorching summer run that included a T-41 at the U.S. Open and three top-10s in PGA Tour events, highlighted by a runner-up at the John Deere Classic. Clanton has since added another second, at the RSM Classic, and was recently T-15 at the Farmers Insurance Open.

While Clanton is firmly entrenched at No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he’s considerably distanced himself as it relates to his WAGR points accrued during the Hogan window:

1. Clanton, 1,503.336 average points
2. Josele Ballester, 1,402.8
3. David Ford, 1,268.757
4. Ian Gilligan, 1,245.434
5. Ben James, 1,233.579

Clanton is further from Ford than Ford is from No. 14 in this exercise, Jack Turner (1,038.244).

Of course, Clanton winning the Hogan has extra meaning. Sure, he would be the second Florida State player in the last five years to receive the honor, but by capturing the award he would also, as it stands, earn a PGA Tour card through PGA Tour University Accelerated, a program that rewards college underclassmen that achieve a number of elite benchmarks. Clanton pushed to 18 of the 20 points he needs with his Farmers made cut, and other than more PGA Tour success this spring, the Hogan would be the next – and probably most logical – pathway.

So, has Clanton already locked all this up?

Ballester, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, certainly has an outside shot, but looking at the numbers, he’s realistically the only guy who can knock off Hot Hand Luke.

Here’s the full Hogan Award watch list, listed in alphabetical order:

Josele Ballester, Arizona State, Sr., Castellon de la Plana, Spain
Adam Bresnu, Odessa, So., Rabat, Morocco
Jackson Buchanan, Illinois, Sr., Dacula, Ga.
Sungyeop Cho, Colorado Christian, So., Yeoju-si, South Korea
Luke Clanton, Florida State, Jr., Hialeah, Fla.
Dominic Clemons, Alabama, Jr., Cambridge, England
Pablo Ereño, UCLA, Sr., Madrid, Spain
Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State, So., Plano, Texas
David Ford, North Carolina, Sr., Peachtree Corners, Ga.
Josiah Gilbert, Auburn, So., Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Ian Gilligan, Florida, Sr., Reno, Nev.
Drew Goodman, Oklahoma, Sr., Norman, Okla.
Max Herendeen, Illinois, So., Bellevue, Wash.
Ben James, Virginia, Jr., Milford, Conn.
Jackson Koivun, Auburn, So., Chapel Hill, N.C.
Michael La Sasso, Ole Miss, Jr., Raleigh, N.C.
Bryan Lee, Virginia, Jr., Fairfax, Va.
Christiaan Maas, Texas, Jr., Pretoria, South Africa
Ashton McCullouch, Michigan State, Sr., Kingston, Ontario
Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame, So., Noblesville, Ind.
Omar Morales, UCLA, Sr., Puebla, Mexico
Tommy Morrison, Texas, Jr., Dallas, Texas
Sebastian Moss, Louisville, Sr., Pearland, Texas
Jake Peacock, USF, Sr., Milton, Ga.
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt, Sr., Birmingham, Ala.
Calum Scott, Texas Tech, Sr., Nairn, Scotland
Lance Simpson, Tennessee, Jr., Knoxville, Tenn.
Preston Summerhays, Arizona State, Sr., Scottsdale, Ariz.
Hiroshi Tai, Georgia Tech, Jr., Singapore, The Republic of Singapore
Cameron Tankersley, Ole Miss, Jr., Dickson, Tenn.
Jack Turner, Florida, So., Orlando, Fla.
Brendan Valdes, Auburn, Sr., Orlando, Fla.
Jackson Van Paris, Vanderbilt, Sr., Pinehurst, N.C.
Kieron Van Wyk, Charleston, Sr., Ruimsig, South Africa
Connor Williams, Arizona State, So., Escondido, Calif.

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