The world of golf never stops delivering epic storylines.
Less than a week after Rory McIlroy won The Masters last year’s low amateur from Augusta’s annual outing made quite the name for himself.
Neil Shipley, also the low amateur at last year’s U.S. Open, won his first professional event at the LECOM Suncoast Classic on Saturday in Florida. It took five playoff holes, but Neil can officially say that he is a winner on a professional tour.
“Yeah, that last putt was a long putt, but definitely just a relief. Obviously I had to kind of try and lock back in expecting him to make his putt, but once his didn’t go, that was awesome. Pumped to get my first win out here, first one as a professional. Yeah, we’ve been building this year towards it, so super excited about the work we’ve been doing.”
Shipley defeated Seungtaek Lee in the five-hole playoff and was quite thrilled, obviously, with the result going his way. It is always great to see emerging players announce themselves formally, but Neil became a bit of a fan favorite during last year’s Masters tournament and in the aftermath as his journey was chronicled in season 3 of Netflix’s Full Swing.
As noted Shipley was the low amateur at the event, but having made the cut he also got to play the weekend. Among the most notable parts of his Masters experience was that he was paired with Tiger Woods for Sunday’s final round.
Saturday’s result was a significant step in Shipley’s career. He figures to be somebody that will be around the professional circuit for a while.
Players who finish in the top 20 on the Korn Ferry Tour earn status on the PGA Tour the following season, so needless to say this was an important win for Shipley.
“We’re just going to let the golf take care of itself. I’m going to focus on trying to win again and maybe try to get a third, too. I mean, that would be awesome, get out of here a little early. No, just playing good golf will take care of that so I’m not worried about it.”
Congratulations to Neil Shipley!
