One interesting storyline in golf this year will be comparing the success of Luke Clanton of Hialeah, Florida to the success of Tom McKibbin of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Both players are similar in age. McKibbin is 22 years old and Clanton is 21 years old. Both players in 2025 had a serious decision to make when turning professional that many golfers for decades simply never had. Should one choose the PGA Tour, which contains a degree of predictability based on its history, or the LIV Tour, which has become the new, energetic new kid on the block that promises guaranteed fortune just for participating.
Clanton chose the PGA Tour, stating “I want to play the PGA Tour, pretty simple. I want to play against the best, I want to compete in majors, and that’s it. Simple,” according to Molin Sheth of Essentially Sports on Friday. Meanwhile, McKibbin chose the LIV Tour, despite an attempt by fellow Northern Ireland golfer Rory McIlroy to play the PGA Tour.
So far, McKibbin is on Legion XIII. He is teammates with Spain’s Jon Rahm, England’s Tyrrell Hatton, and American Caleb Surratt of Indian Trail, North Carolina. It should be noted that Surratt is similar to age to McKibbin and Clanton as he is 21.
Clanton has a long ways to go before he is able to consistently play majors. However, there is no doubt new golfers on the PGA Tour have an easier chance of playing majors because the Official World Golf Rankings does not look at LIV results. So far, Clanton is ranked 117th in the world, and had four top-10 PGA Tour finishes last year as an amateur before turning professional at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open.
As Clanton progresses as a PGA Tour golfer, it will be interesting to see how the PGA Tour uses Clanton in their marketing strategy to encourage rising golfers to choose them rather than the LIV. It appears the more success Clanton has, the more the PGA Tour will benefit.
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