In 1982, Clearwater turned pro. In 1987, Clearwater joined the
PGA Tour. He won two tournaments on the PGA Tour, both in his rookie season of 1987. He won the prestigious
Colonial National Invitation in the spring of that year with a 14-under-par 266, which tied the previous tournament record set by
Corey Pavin in 1985. Later in that same season, he won the
Centel Classic. Clearwater has had a moderately successful career in professional golf. He has just over two dozen top-10 tournament finishes in PGA Tour events. His best finish in a
major was a T-31 at the 1987
U.S. Open, which included a third round of 64 that tied the
Olympic Club course record and remains one shot off of the U.S. Open record. He also competed on the
Champions Tour, but plays the PGA Tour's
Colonial National Invitational every year. Most recently, Clearwater was hired by Pauma Valley Country Club,
Pauma Valley, California as their Director of Instruction in February 2021. == Personal life ==