From: OSU Golf
Ohio State graduate student, Neal Shipley made the cut in his first Masters Tournament, earned low amateur honors and enjoyed a Sunday round at Augusta with Tiger Woods.
He was the only amateur to make the cut and received the Silver Cup for being the low amateur. The only other Buckeye to earn the Silver Cup was Jack Nicklaus, in 1960.
Shipley was just the fourth Buckeye to ever make the cut at the Masters, as an amateur. Nicklaus finished tied for 13th, 1960. John Cook made the cut and finished tied for 39th, in 1979 and in 1984, Clark Burroughs finished tied for 46th.
Shipley learned from the experience that he can compete at the professional level. He has another shot to mix it up with the big boys later this summer, as he will play in the U.S. Open at yet another famed golf course, Pinehurst No. 2.
When asked what he’ll take from this week into that event, Shipley’s replied,
“I think what’s going to help me out a lot is just knowing that my game can compete out here and I don’t need to do anything special to make cuts. When I was just kind of doing my thing and not doing anything special, that was good enough to make the cut and compete out here and beat a lot of players that are on the PGA TOUR.”
Shipley won’t have much time to rest on his laurels as he will return home to join his Buckeye teammates to finish out the 2024 collegiate season. Ohio State hosts the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate at the OSU Golf Club. Next they will compete in the Big Ten Championship at Scioto Country Club, before the NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championship, with the finals being held at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, in Carlsbad, California, at the end of May.
