U.S. Kids Golf announced that Honda, the Official Vehicle of U.S. Kids Golf, presented the 2015 U.S. Kids Golf Player of the Year Awards during the Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens on February 23 which included a Miami Lakes native.
This year’s winners are Yae Eun Kim, 13, from Santiago City in the Dominican Republic and Luke Clanton, 12, of Miami Lakes. Honda provided special invitations for the winners and their families to attend the Honda Classic at PGA National Resort where the young players received their awards.
Clanton finished first in the boys 11 division for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship and Kim finished in second place in the girls 12 division for the World Championship.
Clanton was introduced to golf by his current golf coach/caddie/father when he was 3 years old. He has finished first in multiple tournaments since 2011, including the U.S. Kids Golf Florida State Championship, Junior Masters, the South Florida PGA Junior Tour and the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst.
When he is not being home-schooled by his mother or hitting golf balls, Clanton enjoys traveling with his family, snowboarding and playing with his older sisters. He looks forward to playing college golf and advancing to possibly joining his PGA Tour idols Jordan Spieth and Jason Day as a PGA Tour player in the future.
Winning the National Player of the Year Award offers Kim and Clanton an exemption for all U.S. Kids Golf events through age 18. Additionally, Honda invited both winners to an experience of a lifetime to participate in the Honda Classic Gold Pro-Am during the Honda Classic. The award winners and their families were guests of Honda during the Classic.