Tag: Ian Gilligan

These 15 amateurs have made 21 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2024

If these amateurs could’ve collected prize money, their 2024 winnings would have totaled $3,587,530.

The amateurs shone bright this year.

A total of 15 amateurs made 21 cuts on the PGA Tour in 2024.

Luke Clanton of Florida State led the way, having turned the trick at six different events. His first five events ended in with two top 5s.

Neal Shipley made two cuts, both at majors: the Masters and the U.S. Open.

Nick Dunlap, of course, one-upped all the ams in 2024 as he’s the one with a victory, at the American Express back in January. He’s on the very short list of just eight golfers to win a PGA Tour event as an amateur. He later won the Barracuda Championship for his first victory as a professional.

Would-be winnings

Ams don’t get paid if they make the cut or win, of course, but if these guys did pocket the money from the finishing positions they posted, they would have taken home $3,587,530.

Dunlap’s payday at the AmEx would’ve been worth $1.512 million. Clanton’s tie for second at the John Deere would’ve been good for $712,000. If Clanton could’ve cashed in on all six finishes, he’d have won $1,346,313.

Amateurs who made a cut on PGA Tour in 2024

Tournament Finish Amateur Would-be earnings
The American Express 1 Nick Dunlap $1,512,000
Mexico Open at Vidanta T-46 Santiago De La Fuente $25,515
Puerto Rico Open T10 Jackson Van Paris $93,000
Masters T53 Neal Shipley $46,800
CJ Cup Byron Nelson 65 Kris Kim $20,425
Myrtle Beach Classic T26 Blades Brown $29,800
Memorial 52 Jackson Koivun $50,000
U.S. Open T26 Neal Shipley $153,281
U.S. Open T41 Luke Clanton $72,305
U.S. Open T70 Gunnar Broin $39,982
Rocket Mortgage Classic T10 Luke Clanton $206,233
Rocket Mortgage Classic T44 Ben James $29,164
John Deere Classic T-2 Luke Clanton $712,000
ICSO Championship T-37 Luke Clanton $17,400
British Open T-43 Calum Scott $57,200
British Open T-60 Tommy Morrison $32,100
British Open T-60 Jacob Skov Olesen $32,100
Barracuda Championship T-40 Ian Gilligan $16,600
Wyndham Championship 5 Luke Clanton $323,900
Procore Championship T-50 Luke Clanton $14,475
Shriners Children’s Open T-16 Ian Gilligan $103,250

 

Every day is a gift for cancer survivor Ian Gilligan, who earned a spot in the 2024 Shriners Children’s Open

Returning to the course was good for his soul.

Get ready for a wave of “Let’s go, Gilly!” cheers this week at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.

That’s the nickname of Ian Gilligan, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Florida who won the Southern Highlands Invitational in February to earn a berth in the PGA Tour field this week at TPC Summerlin.

Gilligan shot 8-under 208 to win the event, beating Oklahoma’s Jase Summy by one shot for his first college victory since transferring from Long Beach State, where he earned second-team All-America honors as a sophomore. In August, Gilligan won the prestigious Western Amateur, claiming the title after surviving a grueling 11-hole playoff against one of his college teammates. That was nothing for Gilligan compared to surviving a rare form of lymphoma, one that only 20 kids worldwide had, after being diagnosed at age 15.

“The whole time you’re thinking, ‘Is my child going to survive?’” Gilligan’s father, Grant, told the PGA Tour.com “He was wasting away. He was down to his lowest weight. I mean, he looked like someone horribly anorexic. There was a time I sat down with the doctor, and I broke down and I said, ‘You have to start treatment now.’”

Gilligan received chemo for seven months during which time his budding golf game was placed on the backburner.

“He was smiling through it,” Ethan Schloss, a teammate of Gilligan’s on the Galena High golf team, told NCGA Golf Magazine. “Even when I saw him in the hospital, he was smiling. He had a really good attitude through everything.”

Gilligan’s first golf swings were made with a kitchen spoon in the family’s San Francisco apartment. Returning to the course and the game that he loves was good for his soul.

“Felt like I was just a normal kid again and having fun,” he said during a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday.

A year later, in 2019, the product of the Junior Tour of Northern California competed in a Korn Ferry Tour event. His family moved to Nevada so he could focus on his game and have better access to courses, and he became the 2021 Nevada Golfer of the Year.

Gilligan visits an oncologist once a year for blood work and an MRI and has passed the five-year window during which the likelihood of a cancer relapse is greatest. He still sports a Livestrong bracelet and will wear the logo on his golf shirt this week.

Ian Gilligan at the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. (Mike Ehrmann/USGA)

“I’ve had a lot of people reach out about like they’re going through something similar to what I had,” said Gilligan, noting he’s been contacted often via Instagram. “I know what they’re going through. It’s always nice to help other people and give them some reassurance or tell them what to expect.”

Gilligan already got a taste of playing in the big leagues in July and proved his game is Tour-ready – or at least trending that way. Gilligan received a sponsor invitation to the Tour’s Barracuda Championship in Truckee, California, about 40 miles outside of his adopted hometown. With his high school teammates cheering him on, Gilligan made the 36-hole and finished T-40. This week in Las Vegas, he’ll be an inspiration to the kids at the Shriners Children’s Hospitals, a network of non-profit hospitals and pediatric healthcare systems for orthopedic, spine, burn and other specialty care. He’s in the field on another sponsor exemption, having earned it the hard way and knowing his performance could be a boost to his PGA Tour U ranking.

“To earn it is definitely a little different,” Gilligan said of the college victory to secure his spot in the field. “Feels really good.”

Vanderbilt’s Tillie Claggett, Florida’s Ian Gilligan capture 2023 Patriot All-America titles

Claggett set a tournament record with an impressive final round.

It was an impressive final round for Vanderbilt sophomore Tillie Claggett.

She fired a tournament-record 9-under 61 on Sunday to win the women’s division of the 2023 Patriot All-America, a year-end amateur tournament filled with plenty of the best amateurs from across the country in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Claggett entered the final round six shots back of the lead, but nine birdies later on the Wigwam’s blue course she walked away with her name in the record books and the Folded Flag trophy and Bomber jacket.

“I’ve kind of been waiting for an individual win since I moved out of my junior career into my amateur career, so this definitely feels good,” Claggett said.

She finished at 12-under 198 for the tournament, two shots in front of South Florida’s Melanie Green, the 36-hole leader.

Meanwhile, Florida junior Ian Gilligan shot 2-under 68 in the final round at the Golf Course to cap his wire-to-wire victory, finishing at 12 under. He bested Notre Dame’s Parker Jackson, the event’s only five-time participant, by three shots.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet, but I’m stoked,” said Gilligan, the reigning Big West Conference individual champion. “I didn’t get off to an amazing start – it was a little slow – but I stuck around and waited for my opportunities. I was lucky to get a hole out, which helped, and then hung in there at the end. But I’m extremely to win this event.”

The Patriot All-America Invitational features PING All-Americans from the previous season in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and NJCAA; as well as 2022 First Team All-America Seniors from the AJGA and other special invitees. The 54-hole amateur event is known as the first of its kind to combine the talents of 150 nationally recognized men and women golfers simultaneously at one tournament.

Conducted in a partnership with the GCAA, WGCA, the West Valley Mavericks, The Patriot All-America LLC and the Arizona Golf Association, The Patriot All-America honors fallen or severely wounded soldiers and first responders in collaboration with the Folds of Honor Foundation. The golfers receive a golf bag provided by PING Corporation at the event’s opening ceremony emblazoned with the name and branch of service of a fallen or injured military member whom they shall represent. Participants also receive a card with the soldier’s story so they can become familiar with that soldier. The golf bags are then sold by the players’ college or university with proceeds donated to Folds of Honor to support the families affected.

All-American Ian Gilligan, top transfer in portal, joining national champion Florida

“Ian is a special player and proven winner.”

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As a sophomore, Ian Gilligan put together one of the best seasons in Long Beach State history.

He had four victories, including in the Big West Championship, and nine top-10 finishes. He was named a Golfweek second-team All-American. He narrowly missed out qualifying as an individual for the 2023 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, finishing T-9 at the Las Vegas Regional.

However, Gilligan, who finished 12th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings for 2023, is leaving the Golden State for the Sunshine State, as he’s transferring to the national champion Florida Gators where he will likely become one of the best players in the lineup with two years of eligibility remaining.

“Adding Ian Gilligan to our already talented roster is massive for us in continuing the momentum we created this spring,” Gators’ coach J.C. Deacon said in a release. “Ian is a special player and proven winner. He also has a unique ability to take it deep as he displayed shooting 61 in competition earlier this year. ”

That 61 came in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, where Gilligan finished T-3.

It’s a big splash for the Gators, which lose individual national champion Fred Biondi as well as Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin. He will join John DuBois and Matthew Kress, both pivotal pieces in Florida’s title run, in the lineup.

Gilligan’s rise to one of the best college golfers in the country didn’t come without its challenges. When he was 15, he was one of 20 kids worldwide diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, one that forced him to spend months in the hospital.

He would spend a week receiving chemotherapy treatments before having two weeks at home. That process continued for seven months.

Now, he’s joining the defending national champions looking to help the Gators go back-to-back.

Haskins Award: First spring watch list for 2022-23 men’s college golf Player of the Year

Check out who’s in the running for men’s college golfer of the year.

With every passing week, the men’s college golf season creeps closer to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Haskins Award announced Friday its first spring watch list, featuring 15 of the best men’s college golfers this season. Gordon Sargent, a sophomore at Vanderbilt who has risen to No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is having a stellar season, but there are plenty of other big names in contention.

The Haskins Award honors the player of the year in college men’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the Haskins Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual

A pair of 61s, Michigan State’s record performances in wake of tragedy and more highlights from the last week in college golf

Here’s what you need to know from the last week in college golf.

The scores were low in Hawaii at the Burns Intercollegiate.

Not only was there a record score in the team competition, but there were two golfers who shot 61s during the event, including 2022 U.S. Amateur champion Sam Bennett, a fifth-year senior at Texas A&M.

Each week, Golfweek will put together a roundup of the best individual and team performances from across the country, as teams continue on the road to Grayhawk, highlighting spectacular performances and keeping you up to date on which teams are making a title push.

Here’s what you need to know from the last week in college golf.

Ian Gilligan beat cancer. Now he’s a successful college golfer at Long Beach State and winner of the CalHOPE Courage Award

“I’m just thankful to even be able to play.”

Ian Gilligan didn’t know whether he would live, let alone pick up a club and play golf again.

Now a sophomore at Long Beach State, Gilligan was in the fight for his life a few years ago. When he was 15, he was one of 20 kids worldwide diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, one that forced him to spend months in the hospital.

He would spend a week receiving chemotherapy treatments before having two weeks at home. That process continued for seven months, but Gilligan persevered.

Gilligan is the winner of the CalHOPE Courage Award for the month of November. The monthly award honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome the stress, anxiety and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. It is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press.

“It’s an honor to be nominated for the award,” Gilligan said. “I think everything that the award stands for and does is something I strive for.”

Ian Gilligan
Ian Gilligan has two wins this fall for Long Beach State. (Photo: LBSU Athletics)

Golf remained an escape during Gilligan’s time receiving chemotherapy. Because his immune system was so compromised, he couldn’t do many things in crowded places, like go to the movies. But he could spend time on the golf course.

He first noticed pain his his shoulder when playing, and it eventually spread toward’s Gilligan’s armpit. He was having to take Advil on the course just to be able to practice. Then they got the diagnosis.

His first week home after treatment, Gilligan was normally so exhausted, he didn’t have the energy to play golf, instead just trying to recuperate at home. The second week, however, is when he would head to the course.

“Golfing was definitely a get away,” Gilligan said. “Those experiences helped me be more grateful and helped me grow as a person.”

Gilligan was being recruited before his diagnosis, and his dreams to play collegiately and beyond wouldn’t be hampered by being sick.

He originally received an email from Long Beach State asking him to come by campus for a visit, and after talking with his parents, he did just that.

The visit sold him. The campus was close to the practice facilities. Weather was nice year round. It was also close to his coach, George Gankas.

That decision paid off.

As a freshman last year, Gilligan was named Big West Freshman of the Year and to the All-Big West First Team with three top-10 finishes and five top-25 showings. His best finish was second place at the Big West Championships.

This fall, he has continued to dominate. Gilligan has two victories at the Nick Watney Invitational and the Mackenzie Invitational, as well as a strong finish at the Cal Poly Invitational. He’s ranked 21st in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings heading into the spring.

His drive and determination helped him overcome cancer and become one of the best college golfers in the country. That’s why he won the CalHOPE Courage Award, and it shouldn’t be a shock to see his success continue.

“I’m just thankful to even be able to play,” Gilligan said.

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