3 Days Before Pro Debut, 21-Year-Old Golfer Reveals One Uncanny Connection to Tiger Woods

Luke Clanton will make his PGA Tour debut in just three days at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto. The young golfer has been quietly racking up the skills, almost snagging his PGA TOUR card at the WM Phoenix Open before finally clinching it at his hometown Cognizant Classic. Clanton’s résumé is dotted with some awe-inspiring feats – six top-25 finishes in 13 TOUR starts, including a couple of near-misses at the John Deere Classic and RSM Classic. Clanton’s got some company in Canada, too – Gordon Sargent’s also making his pro debut. They’ll be sharing the spotlight with golf royalty like Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. And let’s be real, half the credit for Clanton’s success goes to his dad, David Clanton.

In the latest episode of the PGA Tour’s YouTube Channel, the rising star talked about his upbringing and the strict training methods his father ingrained in him to make him the golfer he is today. Luke’s father was a demanding coach who pushed him to his limits, making him practice for hours on end. “We would chip from about right here to that green, and this is where the money was made,” Luke said, describing the rigorous training sessions with his dad. “Every 5 yards, I’d dump out a pile of balls, every 5 yards to the green, so we’d hit one, move the next one till we got to the green, and then we’d come right back in reverse.”

Luke’s father was relentless in his pursuit of perfection, often keeping him out on the course until late at night. “He used to work from about 4:00 to 2:00 p.m every day and then take me out to the course until you know 10:00 p.m at night, uh, with a flashlight,” Luke recalled. “He’d say, ‘We have to just grind harder than everybody else.’ And you know, at the time, you’re hitting balls until your hands are almost bleeding.” Despite the tough training, Luke credits his father for his success, saying, “He had a goal for me in his mind, and he made sure I got there. I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done.” The hard work paid off, as Luke dominated in his first tournament at just six years old, thanks to his ability to make crucial shots.

However, Clanton’s story sounds all too familiar, or in a way inspired by the one that the whole golf world knows – the tale of Tiger Woods, who’d stop at nothing to hone his craft. In a 2015 interview with Lorne Rubenstein, Woods revealed that he’d sneak onto the Navy Golf Course as a kid to play with his dad, Earl. “My mom’s dropping me off. I’d hop in the creek, this ditch, and walk on the south side of the ditch, because the clubhouse was up above, so no one could see me,” Woods said, describing his elaborate attempts to avoid detection. He’d hide under a bridge on the third hole, covering himself in “rocks and stuff” to blend in, before his dad would call out, “Hey, you there?” and Woods would sheepishly reply, “Yup. Coming up.”

It’s clear that Earl Woods pushed Tiger to practice harder than most, often in unconventional ways. The image of Tiger hiding under a bridge, waiting for his dad to pick him up, speaks volumes about the lengths they went to in pursuit of greatness. Well, it wasn’t only the physical training that shaped Woods into the golfer we know today.

Earl Woods trained Tiger Woods to be a resilient golfer

His late father Earl, played a significant role in forging his mental toughness, and it’s fascinating to see the methods he used. Earl would deliberately disrupt Tiger’s practice sessions, dropping his bag of clubs or throwing golf balls in front of his ball. “Just as he’s beginning to swing, I dropped my whole bag of clubs. And he would stop and look at me with those teeth gritting and he would start again,” Earl revealed. The goal was to teach Tiger how to maintain his focus under pressure, and it clearly worked.

As Tiger grew more resilient, Earl upped the ante, testing his son’s limits. “He’d stop again, and I’d say, ‘Hey look, are you through showboating? The marshall says we have to complete this round in 4 hours, and you’re taking up more than your share of the time. So either hit or go get off the course.’ And then he would stripe it. Just hit it perfect and turn around and look at me and never say a word,” Earl said.

Tiger credits his father for teaching him to stay calm and focused, saying “He would take me right up to the breaking point , andhe’d back off… Eventually it would take more and then more and then more and then more finally to the point where it didn’t bother me anymore.” And well, Earl’s bold prediction that Tiger would become the most mentally tough person he’d ever meet did come true.

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