After shooting a disappointing 80 in the third round of his Masters debut, amateur Neal Shipley was given some news that immediately cheered him up.
“Hey, guess who we are going to be paired with tomorrow,” asked Shipley's caddie Carter Pitcairn.
"No way it's Tiger," Shipley replied. “Yeah,” Pitcairn confirmed.
“I got pretty excited, and that's when the emotions turned around,” Shipley said after shooting a one-over 73 in the fourth round to complete his first Masters.
The 23-year-old Pittsburgh native claimed the low amateur honors on Friday after becoming the only non-pro to make the cut, and concluded his memorable week by doing something most golfers can only dream of: playing a round with Tiger Woods at Augusta National.
He said getting to play with Woods only started to feel real when he arrived at Augusta on Sunday.
“When we got here this morning and saw Tiger on the range, it was like, oh my gosh, this is actually happening. It was really cool."
It was an experience he would remember for the rest of his life.
“Today being out there with Tiger, we were chatting. We talked a lot about just golf, Charlie and just normal things. He's such a normal guy and really cool. He was great to me all day.
“Couldn't be more appreciative of him just being awesome today, and it was just really cool to be around him and just the attention he gets and the roars. The crowds were phenomenal.
"I think I have to win one of these things to kind of top this week. Definitely been a dream week, but looking forward to being out here soon hopefully.”
While he would’ve liked to have played better this week – “shooting 80 is never fun” – Shipley still managed to beat Woods and several other pros after finishing at 12-over for his tournament.
The future certainly looks bright for Shipley, but he admits his journey to Augusta has been far from easy.
Shipley has gone from not receiving a Power 5 scholarship offer out of high school and "grinding" as an unknown college golfer at James Maddison, to one of the best young players in the country.
He booked his ticket to the Masters after a runners-up finish at the 2023 US Amateur at Cherry Hills, where he lost to Nick Dunlap in the final. He now has the prestigious Silver Cup at the Masters, beat one of his idols at Augusta, and can now look forward to teeing it up at this year's US Open at Pinehurst No.2.
“It's certainly been quite the journey," he said. "You know, it's been a lot of hard work put into that. And, you know, there's been a lot of lows along the journey, but I've been really proud of myself for how I've rolled with the punches throughout the years and kept working and striving for goals like this. Seeing all that hard work pay off has been unbelievable.
“[I've] been a grinder for a long time. I've always known that I was talented and could compete, but I just needed to get my game where it should be. I feel like making the cut out here in those tough conditions shows that I belong out here and can compete with these guys.”
