Luke Clanton labels Rory McIlroy the “Tiger Woods of his life” after first-round pairing at RBC Canadian Open 2025

Luke Clanton had a memorable start to his RBC Canadian Open 2025 campaign, teeing off alongside World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg in the opening round at TPC Toronto. The 21-year-old posted a round of even-par 70, sitting at T96 after 18 holes.

Clanton carded three bogeys and an eagle on the par-5 18th in his front nine to make the turn at even par. He added a lone birdie on the back nine to finish the round with a 70. In comparison, McIlroy closed his day at T119, while Åberg stood at T43.

After the round, Luke Clanton shared his excitement about playing with McIlroy, saying (via ASAP Sports):

"Being paired with Rory is no joke. The crowds are amazing. Watching him hit drivers and iron shots, it's cool. I watched him growing up my whole life, so I guess you could say he's like the Tiger Woods of my life, and it's really cool."

Luke Clanton turned professional in 2025 and has already made a mark on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at the Sony Open in Hawaii but bounced back with a T15 finish at the Farmers Insurance Open. So far, he has made three cuts in five starts this season.

Luke Clanton during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament - Source: Imagn

McIlroy, meanwhile, had praised Luke Clanton ahead of the tournament. During a press conference on Wednesday, June 4, he said:

“I haven’t really met him, or I certainly haven’t played with him, so I’m looking forward to that over the next two days. It seems like a lot of these college kids are coming out just ready."

Reflecting on the experience, Luke Clanton added:

“First pro start with Rory McIlroy, it’s definitely a day to remember.”

McIlroy is a two-time RBC Canadian Open champion, having won the tournament in 2019 and 2022.

When will Luke Clanton tee up in round 2?

Luke Clanton will continue with the same marquee pairing for Friday’s second round at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, once again playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg. The trio is scheduled to tee off at 12:55 p.m. ET from the 1st tee at TPC Toronto.

Here is the full list of the tee timings of the second round (all times ET):

Tee No. 1

• 6:45 a.m. – Kevin Kisner, Eric Cole, David Lipsky
• 6:56 a.m. – Charley Hoffman, Danny Willett, Danny Walker
• 7:07 a.m. – Lanto Griffin, Ryan Palmer, Thorbjørn Olesen
• 7:18 a.m. – Nick Dunlap, Brandt Snedeker, Adam Schenk
• 7:29 a.m. – Brice Garnett, Jake Knapp, Luke List
• 7:40 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Erik van Rooyen, Matt Wallace
• 7:51 a.m. – Karl Vilips, Matt McCarty, Kevin Yu
• 8:02 a.m. – Patrick Fishburn, Chandler Phillips, David Skinns
• 8:13 a.m. – Jeremy Paul, Will Chandler, Matthew Scobie
• 8:24 a.m. – Taylor Montgomery, Matthew Riedel, Justin Matthews (a)
• 8:35 a.m. – Quade Cummins, Tim Widing, Matthew Javier (a)
• 8:46 a.m. – William Mouw, John Pak, David Ford
• 8:57 a.m. – Isaiah Salinda, Cristian DiMarco, Sudarshan Yellamaraju
• 12:00 p.m. – Beau Hossler, Henrik Norlander, Roger Sloan
• 12:11 p.m. – Mark Hubbard, Sam Ryder, Greyson Sigg
• 12:22 p.m. – Mike Weir, Chan Kim, Ben Silverman
• 12:33 p.m. – Sam Burns, Max Homa, Sungjae Im
• 12:44 p.m. – Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes
• 12:55 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg, Luke Clanton
• 1:06 p.m. – Harry Hall, Taylor Moore, Kurt Kitayama
• 1:17 p.m. – Nate Lashley, Alex Smalley, Victor Perez
• 1:28 p.m. – Matteo Manassero, Jackson Suber, Ashton McCulloch (a)
• 1:39 p.m. – Thomas Rosenmueller, Mason Andersen, Josh Goldenberg
• 1:50 p.m. – Paul Peterson, Philip Knowles, Hunter Thomson
• 2:01 p.m. – Hayden Springer, Harrison Endycott, Cougar Collins
• 2:12 p.m. – Takumi Kanaya, Trevor Cone, A.J. Ewart

Tee No. 10

• 6:45 a.m. – Aaron Baddeley, Harry Higgs, Matti Schmid
• 6:56 a.m. – Cameron Champ, Alex Noren, Rasmus Højgaard
• 7:07 a.m. – Vince Whaley, Will Gordon, Ben Kohles
• 7:18 a.m. – Ryan Fox, Tom Kim, Cameron Young
• 7:29 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose, Adam Hadwin
• 7:40 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Shane Lowry, Corey Conners
• 7:51 a.m. – Rafael Campos, Peter Malnati, Seamus Power
• 8:02 a.m. – Trey Mullinax, Joseph Bramlett, Ryo Hisatsune
• 8:13 a.m. – David Hearn, Alejandro Tosti, Steven Fisk
• 8:24 a.m. – Frankie Capan III, Cristobal Del Solar, Tyler Mawhinney (a)
• 8:35 a.m. – Kevin Roy, Jesper Svensson, Richard T. Lee
• 8:46 a.m. – Ricky Castillo, Paul Waring, Brett Webster
• 8:57 a.m. – Max McGreevy, Kris Ventura, Mark Hoffman
• 12:00 p.m. – Justin Lower, Nicolai Højgaard, Dylan Wu
• 12:11 p.m. – Chad Ramey, Andrew Putnam, Rico Hoey
• 12:22 p.m. – Doug Ghim, Hayden Buckley, Mac Meissner
• 12:33 p.m. – Davis Riley, Lee Hodges, Gary Woodland
• 12:44 p.m. – Matthieu Pavon, Adam Svensson, Aaron Wise
• 12:55 p.m. – Thomas Detry, Keith Mitchell, Byeong Hun An
• 1:06 p.m. – Camilo Villegas, Emiliano Grillo, Nick Hardy
• 1:17 p.m. – Joel Dahmen, Patrick Rodgers, Carson Young
• 1:28 p.m. – Kaito Onishi, Myles Creighton, Matthew Anderson
• 1:39 p.m. – Kevin Velo, Braden Thornberry, Wes Heffernan
• 1:50 p.m. – Niklas Norgaard, Gordon Sargent, Johnny Keefer
• 2:01 p.m. – Antoine Rozner, Vince Covello, Wei-Hsuan Wang
• 2:12 p.m. – Noah Goodwin, Yi Cao, Barend Botha