Luke Clanton felt completely normal Thursday as he prepared for his first competitive round as a PGA Tour member.
He grabbed a bagel and coffee from Tim Horton’s.
He looked good as he worked through the bag on the range.
He was calm as he shook Rory McIlroy’s hand on the 10th hole while their tee time approached.
And then … he took the club back.
“I couldn’t feel it,” he said. “So it was a new experience, for sure.”
One of the Tour’s ballyhooed new additions debuted on Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open, where Clanton struggled a bit with his driver but managed to eke out an even-par round of 70 to start his pro Tour career.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I hit it really well and putted it really good. Just a few tee shots here and there, but it was good.”
The Tour pushed Clanton into a featured group to start his pro career, alongside Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg. Aberg got the best of the grouping with a 68, while Clanton edged McIlroy by a shot.
“It’s cool to be thrown in the fire right away,” he said.
Clanton said he didn’t sleep much in anticipation of the star-studded grouping – not so much from nerves, but excitement. He called McIlroy the “Tiger Woods of my life,” since he’s grown up watching him play.
“The first tee shot,” he said, “I’ve never experienced anything like that. It was so cool to meet Rory and play with him and be out there with Ludvig as well, two great ball-strikers. It was really cool.”
The trio will head out at 12:55 p.m. ET on Friday.
