AUGUSTA, Ga. — An Ohio State University graduate student rounded out his Masters Tournament debut by being paired with Tiger Woods in the final round on Sunday.
Neal Shipley carded rounds of 71-76 over the first two days which allowed him to make the cut to progress further in the tournament. The Pittsburgh native is the fourth Buckeye to make the cut while playing as an amateur and was the only amateur this year to make the cut
On Saturday, he shot 6-over-par on the back nine for a third-round 80 before finding out later that evening that he would be paired with Woods for the final round.
Shipley carded a final-round 73, placing him in a tie for 53rd in the tournament overall. As the lone amateur to make the cut, Shipley spent Sunday evening inside Butler Cabin with CBS's Jim Nantz and tournament champion Scottie Scheffler.
Shipley also received the Silver Cup for being the low amateur, making him the only other Buckeye to receive this award after Jack Nicklaus in 1960.
Woods finished the tournament in 60th place.
Shipley's next round of play comes April 26-28 in the Big Ten Championships at Scioto Country Club in Columbus.
Shipley played three seasons with James Madison University before coming to Ohio State as a grad transfer. Before becoming a Buckeye, he won the 2022 Pennsylvania State Amateur at Llanerch Country Club.
Shipley shined during the 2022-23 season, finishing with the second-lowest scoring average on the team at 72.72. He also recorded five top-20 finishes and one top-10 finish.
The Pittsburgh native received an invitation for the Masters by virtue of his runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in Colorado. He is the first Buckeye amateur to play in the event since Chris Wollman in 1996. He was one of five amateurs in this year's field.
Shipley started 2024 by winning the Southwestern Invitational in California for his first collegiate victory and last summer, he finished second in the Dogwood Invitational, Sunnehanna Amateur and Trans-Mississippi Amateur.
Both he and four-time Masters champion Arnold Palmer have won both the Junior and Open titles of Western Pennsylvania.
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