Neal Shipley Ready for His First Masters
4/10/2024 12:10:00 PM | Men's Golf
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s Neal Shipley is set for his first Masters Tournament. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native is one of five amateurs in this year’s field, and he’ll open play on Thursday morning.
Shipley received an invitation for the Masters by virtue of his runner-up finish at the 2023 US Amateur at Cherry Hills. He will be the first Buckeye amateur to play in the event since Chris Wollmann competed in 1996 after winning the previous summer’s US Amateur Public Links.
Shipley is paired with Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and past champion Mike Weir for the first two rounds. The trio is set to start at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and 8:24 a.m. on Friday.
For Shipley, this will be the first of two major championships this year as he also received an invitation to this summer’s US Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
This season, Shipley has played in all eight collegiate events for the Buckeyes and leads the team with a career-best 70.33 scoring average. He has a team-high five Top 20 finishes, including three Top 5s and his first collegiate victory. He won the Southwestern Invitational at the end of February by birdying six of his final eight holes to win the title by one shot. He has posted 11 rounds in the 60s, including a career-low 64 at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate last fall.
Following this week, Shipley will return to campus and prepare for the next two collegiate events, which will be right here in Columbus. The Buckeyes will host the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate April 19-21 at the OSU Golf Club and then play in the Big Ten Championship at Scioto Country Club on April 26-28.
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