2024: The Year of Neal Shipley
By Josh Rowntree, Director of Communications • December 18, 2024
While Western Pennsylvania experiences a mid-December deep freeze, Neal Shipley sits in his new apartment in sunny West Palm Beach, Florida, going through the mundane yet tumultuous task of building Ikea furniture.
Shipley, the Pittsburgh native who burst onto the worldwide golf scene in 2024 is — much like furniture construction — currently laboring through the complex, numerous stages of building a golf career.
And now, as he moves on from an unfathomable year, Shipley has just a minuscule amount of time to reflect on the whirlwind season that changed his life.
“It was all very unexpected,” says Shipley, who finished graduate school at Ohio State this spring, receiving a degree in data analytics to go along with his quantitative finance degree earned at James Madison. “If you would’ve asked me in January where I’d be a year from then, I wouldn’t have thought this.”
This spring and summer — thanks to exemptions received by placing second at the uber-difficult 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship — the 23-year-old Central Catholic graduate finished as the Low Amateur at both The Masters and the U.S. Open, becoming just the fourth golfer to accomplish that feat since 1990 and joining some of the game’s all-time greats in Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson in doing so.
Shipley, thrust into fields with the world’s best, displayed a seemingly inherent knack for rising to the occasion when the lights were brightest, and in situations where contemporaries may crumble, he thrived.
“One, it’s the hard work I’ve put in through the years and relying on that practice,” he says. “You can’t replace that. And I also think that I’m one of these guys that wants the ball at the end of the game, for the game-winning shot. I’m excited when I get the opportunity to do something cool. I don’t shy away from those moments.”
In the process, he became a viral sensation and a media darling — all before officially becoming a professional.
One Interview that Led to Dozens More
A couple of hours after walking a Sunday round at Augusta National with, arguably, the game’s all-time great in Tiger Woods, Shipley sat in Butler Cabin alongside CBS’ Jim Nantz and the game’s current top player in Scottie Scheffler. The unintentional yet frequent side eyes from the Low Amateur finisher towards the cameras and CBS staff stole the show and turned into an online meme that thrust Shipley into a limelight no one could have pictured.
The next few weeks were spent doing interviews with just about every sports outlet imaginable. He joked around with fellow Pittsburgh native Pat McAfee on his ESPN show. He appeared on the top golf podcasts in the world. He was an open book, never turning down a request as his phone rarely had a quiet moment.
And it all happened as he returned to Ohio State to finish school as one of the most recognizable student-athletes on a campus full of them.
“The media gauntlet, it can be really taxing,” says Shipley. “I’m lucky that I had a lot of people around me that helped me navigate those waters. They set up a schedule so that I could still practice really hard, still do school — because I still had to finish up my degree — and just get the media stuff done. We needed to capitalize on that moment.
“But I felt like I needed to get back to work. The media took a lot of my attention away from golf. At the end of the day, I can’t just show up at a tournament and expect to win. I have to put in the work. I got back right to it. We had a busy schedule at Ohio State that time of year, so that kept me sharp.
“Plus, I wanted to show up for my teammates and play my best for them, so that the team could be successful.”
Moving on to Pinehurst
Shipley went on to play in the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and the media attention came right back. He fired off a remarkable first round score of 70 en route to a 26th place finish — once again the top spot for any amateur in the event — all on one of the nation’s most challenging layouts.
“At the Masters, I felt like I played a really good 36 holes, but then didn’t have the best weekend ever,” he says. “I wanted to go to the U.S. Open and — obviously I wanted to make the cut — but I wanted to have four really strong rounds.
“That was awesome, to do that, under those conditions. And then the pressure on Sunday, playing with (fellow amateur) Luke Clanton, it was a huge confidence boost.”
Shipley’s intention, if he had missed the cut, was to conclude his amateur career at the 124th West Penn Amateur Championship at Chartiers Country Club the day after the final round of the U.S. Open. However, when he made the weekend at Pinehurst, and then had to stick around for the Low Amateur ceremony, getting back to Pittsburgh to compete in time became understandably unrealistic.
From Am to Pro
After the U.S. Open, Shipley became a professional golfer, receiving exemptions into multiple events.
Unpaid for his Masters and U.S. Open success due to amateur status, he ended up earning $410,268 in his debut year as a professional. He made the cut in six of his eight events played. He finished sixth at the ISCO Championship, shooting 20-under for the week, and placed in the top 20 in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and Procore Championship. If eligible, would have finished in the top 180 players in FedEx Cup points.
But the reality of professional golf can be a bit cruel. Despite going toe-to-toe with some of the world’s best, Shipley now must restart — in a sense. He earned status on the PGA Tour Americas circuit last year and currently has conditional membership on the Korn Ferry Tour for 2025, with an opportunity in front of him to rise through the ranks. He’s spent the brief offseason pinpointing where to improve his game to ensure that happens.
“On the PGA Tour, there’s so much data,” he says. “You can figure out anything about your game there. I took some time to reflect on that. We found few things we needed to clean up. But I played solid through the summer. I think my game translates to the PGA Tour really well. Only missing two cuts in eight events, that’s really strong.”
A chance to play in front of – and give back to – his hometown
Shipley looks towards 2026 as a potential target year to return to the PGA Tour full-time. Of course, things will need to go well for him in 2025 — a year that is a big one for a professional golfer from Pittsburgh with the return of the U.S. Open to Oakmont Country Club in June.
A former caddie for four years at Oakmont, Shipley is certainly aware of the history and challenge presented by such an infamous track. He intends on going through the rigorous sectional qualifying competitions to compete on a course where he will have an undeniable hometown advantage.
“It’s a matter of going out and having a really good day at U.S. Open qualifying,” says Shipley, a member of St. Clair Country Club. “If you do that, you earn your way in. But it’s the longest day in golf.
“I’d love to be at Oakmont. I caddied there. It’s a place that I love so much and has so much meaning to me, personally. I think it’s the best golf course in the world.”
He knows that, if he can find away into that exclusive field again, he’ll be the fan favorite. And the media circus will begin all over again, with a decided localized focused for the kid from Pittsburgh trying to conquer the world’s best in his own backyard.
But that’s something Shipley — as genuine of a professional athlete as you’ll come across — will be ready to embrace. In large part because he’s already been doing it.
“The best part for me about this year is that, when I go home to St. Clair, there are high school kids or kids in middle school and they’re coming up to me,” he adds. “They’ve just picked up the game and are excited about golf. Their parents mention to me how I was maybe a small part in them playing more.”
Shipley understands the local impact that he can make on Western Pennsylvania. He continues to be a strong advocate for WPGA events and other regional competitions for golfers of all ages and skill levels. He knows that, without those events, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
And, beyond his own personal accomplishments, he’s focused on a bigger picture when it comes to his play — being a positive influence for those who are now looking up to him.
“That’s the stuff that’s the best,” he says. “For me personally, when you’re playing professional golf, there’s a lot to gain financially. But it’s important to be playing for something bigger than that. That’s not going to sustain a career long term.
“Growing the game locally in Pittsburgh, and hopefully globally someday, is something that makes me tick. I want everyone to experience the joy that this game has given me.”
For media inquiries, please contact WPGA Director of Communications Josh Rowntree.
About the WPGA
Founded in 1899, the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association is the steward of amateur golf in the region. Started by five Member Clubs, the association now has nearly 200 Member Clubs and nearly 37,000 members. The WPGA conducts 14 individual competitions and 10 team events, and administers the WPGA Scholarship Fund and Western Pennsylvania Golf Hall of Fame.