Clanton claims individual title, leads Florida State to team crown against loaded field in Valspar Collegiate

 

   Florida State, beaten in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship by cross-state rival and eventual national champion Florida a year ago, looks like it’s gearing up for another deep postseason run this spring.

   It’s been a week, but I had to go back and take a closer look at the Valspar Collegiate, which wrapped up March 25^th at Floridan National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla. with the Seminoles, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, four shots clear of reigning Southeastern Conference champion Vanderbilit.

   It was probably the best field you could find between now and when the NCAA Championship tees off May 24 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad, Calif. And the spring sprint toward the NCAA Championship is very much under way. The conference championships will be contested at the end of this month and then it will be on to the NCAA regionals.

   In the aftermath of its victory in the Valspar, Florida State rose to No. 6 in the Scoreboard powered by clippd rankings that replaced the Golfstat rankings as the official rankings utilized by the NCAA for the wraparound 2023-2024 season.

   Battling some typical March winds on Florida’s East Coast, Florida State got started with a 4-under-par 280 over the 7,114-yard, par-71 Floridian National layout and added a 6-under 278 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round that gave the Seminoles a six-shot lead over their ACC rival Wake Forest going into the final round. Florida State then closed with a solid 9-under 275 for a 19-under 833 total.

   Florida State was led by its outstanding sophomore, Luke Clanton of Hialeah, Fla. and No. 12 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) as he cruised to his second straight individual title, rolling to a five-shot victory over the loaded field with a 14-under 199 total.

   Clanton was one of a really strong class of stars from American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit who were freshmen a year ago. He punctuated his rookie season by capturing the individual title in the NCAA’s Morgan Hill Regional last spring, helping Florida State advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. by finishing in third place as a two seed.

   Clanton got the jump on the field in the Valspar, ignoring the windy conditions to post an opening round of 6-under 65. He added a 3-under 68 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round and then closed strong with a sparkling 5-under 66.

   Clanton was coming off a victory in the Seminole Intercollegiate earlier in March at Florida State’s home course, the Seminole Legacy Club.

   Vanderbilt, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a 5-under 279 and added a 2-over 286 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round that left the Commodores trailing Florida State by seven shots going into the final round. Vanderbilt closed with the best round of the day in the final round, a sizzling 12-under 272 that left it four shots behind the Seminoles in second place with a 15-under 837 total.

   The Commodores were led by Matthew Riedel, a graduate student from Houston, Texas who finished in a tie for second place in the individual standings with Arkansas’ Christian Castillo, a senior from Eldorado Hills, Calif., each landing on 9-under 204 total.

   Riedel might get overlooked at times on the star-studded Vanderbilt roster, but he was routinely solid at Floridian, closing with the best individual round of the tournament, a scintillating 7-under 64. Riedel had opened with a 2-under 69 before matching par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 71.

   Castillo sandwiched a 1-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of 4-under 67s to join Riedel at 9-under.

   Arizona State, out of the Pac-12 and No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings, was another five shots behind Vanderbilt in third place with a 10-under 842 total. The Sun Devils opened with a 4-under 280 and added a 1-over 285 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round and was tied for third place with Vanderbilt just seven shots behind Florida State going into the final round before finishing strong with a 7-under 277.

   Arizona State was led by Wenyi Ding, a freshman from China and No. 10 in the WAGR who finished alone in fourth place in the individual chase, a shot behind Riedel and Castillo with an 8-under 205 total. Ding, an impressive winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2022 at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon, bounced back from an opening round of 1-over 72 with a 6-under 65 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 68.

   Castillo’s strong showing led Arkansas, another SEC representative and No. 11 in the Scoreboard rankings, to a fourth-place finish as the Razorbacks matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 284 after opening with a 2-under 282 before closing with a 7-under 277 to finish a shot behind Arizona State with a 9-under 843 total.

   It was another nine shots back to Big 12 power Oklahoma, No. 14 in the Scoreboard rankings, as the Sooners added a 2-over 286 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to their opening round of 1-under 281 before closing with a 1-over 285 for an even-par 852 total.

   No. 24 Duke, one of Florida State’s ACC rivals, finished a shot behind Oklahoma in sixth place with a 1-over 853 total. After struggling to a 299 in the opening round, the Blue Devils came on strong, posting a 3-under 281 in the second round before closing with the second-best team round of the tournament, an 11-under 273.

   Texas A&M, another SEC entry, was two shots behind Duke in sixth place with a 3-over 855 total. The Aggies, No. 24 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a 6-over 290 before adding a 1-under 283 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round and finishing up with a 2-under 282.

   A couple more ACC representatives, North Carolina, the No. 1 team in the Scoreboard rankings, and No. 34 Wake Forest, accounted for the next two spots in the team standings, the Blue Devils landing in eighth place with a 4-over 856, a shot behind Texas A&M, and the Demon Deacons, another two shots behind the Dookies in ninth in the loaded 16-team field with a 6-over 858 total.

   North Carolina, which lost to ACC rival Georgia Tech in the other NCAA Championship semifinal at Grayhawk last spring, opened with a solid 4-under 280 in the Valspar and added a 5-over 289 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 3-over 287.

   Wake Forest was in second place, just six shots behind Florida State going into the final round after the Demon Deacons recorded a pair of 2-under 282s in the opening-day double round. Wake Forest struggled a little in the final round with a 10-over 294.

   Backing up Clanton for Florida State was Frederik Kjettrup, a senior from Denmark and No. 20 in the WAGR, and Gray Albright, a senior from Ocala, Fla., as they were part of a group of five players who finished in a tie for eighth place in the individual standings at 3-under 210.

   After struggling to an opening round of 3-over 75, Kjettrup, who has been a Seminole stalwart during his time in Tallahassee, posted a 3-under 68 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before contributing a 4-under 67 in the final round to help Florida State hold off a hard-charging Vanderbilt.

   Albright was steady throughout, adding a 2-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening-round 70 before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Cole Anderson, a redshirt senior from Camden, Maine and No. 48 in the WAGR, finished among the group tied for 38^th place for the Seminoles with a 4-over 217 total. After opening with a solid 1-under 70, Anderson added a 2-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 74.

   Rounding out the Florida State lineup was Tyler Weaver, a freshman from England who finished in the group tied for 65^th place with an 8-over 221 total. After struggling to a 6-over 77 in the opening round, Weaver added a 2-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before contributing an important counting even-par 71 in the final round.

   Clanton, Kjettrup and Anderson were in the lineup for Florida State in its loss to Florida in the semifinals at Grayhawk nearly a year ago.

   North Carolina’s Austin Greaser, a graduate student from Vandalia, Ohio and No. 14 in the WAGR, finished alone in fifth place, a shot behind Arizona State’s Ding with a 7-under 206 total. Greaser, who lost in the final of the U.S. Amateur in 2021 at the Pittsburgh area’s iconic Oakmont Country Club, trailed Clanton by just two shots going into the final round at Floridian after he opened with a 5-under 66 and added a 2-under 69 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.

   Greaser matched par in the final round with a 71 to keep it at 7-under.

   Ryggs Johnston, Arizona State’s veteran graduate student from Libby, Mont. and No. 99 in the WAGR, competed as an individual and finished in a tie for sixth place with Oklahoma’s Stephen Campbell Jr., a redshirt junior from Richmond, Texas, each landing on 4-under 209, three shots behind Greaser.

   Johnston closed with a sparkling 6-under 65 to zoom up the leaderboard. He had opened with a 1-over 73 before adding a 1-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round. Campbell also finished with a flourish, matching Johnston’s 6-under 65 in the final round after he had opened with a 1-under 70 and added a 3-over 74 in the second round.

   Joining Florida State’s Kjettrup and Albright in the quintet tied for eighth place at 3-under were South Florida’s Sam Nicholson, a senior from Atlantic Beach, Fla., Arizona State’s Conner Williams, a freshman from San Diego, Calif. and Wake Forest’s Michael Brennan, a senior from Leesburg, Va. and No. 33 in the WAGR.

   Nicholson matched par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 71 after opening with a solid 4-under 67 before closing with a 1-under 70. Williams gave Arizona State a second finisher inside the top eight – three if you count Johnston – as he opened with a sparkling 5-under 66, added a 2-over 73 in the second round and matched par in the final round with a 71.

   The always steady Brennan opened with a 3-under 68 and added a 1-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before finishing up with a 1-over 72.

   Ohio State graduate student Neal Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team, finished in the group tied for 57^th place with a 7-over 220 total as he added a 1-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to his opening round of 3-over 74 before struggling a little in the final round with a 76.

   The Buckeyes, a Big Ten entry, struggled in the Valspar, finishing in 15^th place in the 16-team field with a 27-over 879 total.

   By virtue of his gritty run to the final of the U.S. Amateur last summer at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado, Shipley will have a starting time in next week’s Masters Tournament, the first men’s major professional championship of the year at Augusta National Golf Club. Pretty sure he’s looking forward to it. Another Ohio State guy, that Jack Nicklaus fella, owns the record for the most Masters wins with six of them.