Neal Shipley leads the amateurs through round one of the U.S. Open
Neal Shipley (USGA Photo)
The last time
Neal Shipley walked off the golf course at a major championship, he was the low amateur.
After the first round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, he held the same title.
Shipley shot an impressive even par 70 to sit T16 after the opening round. The recent Ohio State graduate recorded four birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey. He birdied No. 1 and bogeyed No. 2 for an up-and-down start but was 2-under through 14 holes before making a double bogey on the par-3 No. 15.
He currently ranks No. 8 in strokes gained off the tee in the field. However, he was 71st in strokes gained short game.
Shipley made headlines in April, finishing as the low amateur at the Masters Tournament and playing with Tiger Woods in the final round. The most recent golfer to earn low amateur honors at both the U.S. Open and Masters was Viktor Hovland in 2019.
Plus, he has a cool headcover.
The next closest amateurs are Bryan Kim, the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur winner who just finished his freshman season at Duke, who is 2-over, Omar Morales and Gordon Sargent, who shot 3-over 73 and sit T65. Sargent is the No. 1 ranked player in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
Wells Williams, Gunnar Broin, Hiroshi Tai, Ben James, and Ashton McCulloch are all T105 at 5-over. Tai won the NCAA individual championships to earn his spot in the field.
According to DataGolf, there is a 20.4 percent chance the cut will be 3-over, a 42.1 percent chance the cut will be 4-over, and a 27.8 percent chance the cutline will be 5-over.
ABOUT THE
U.S. Open Golf Championship
The U.S. Open is the biggest of the 15 national
championships conducted by the USGA.
Open
to amateurs and professionals. Amateurs gain
entry via USGA win or runner-up finishes while having the opportunity
to qualify alongside non-exempt professionals in an 18-hole "Local' qualifying followed
by 36-hole "Final" qualifying which is affectionately known as golf's longest day.
Highly-ranked amateurs will be exempted past the 18-hole Local Qualifying. See the
USGA website for details. And if you are exempt on any level be sure to apply by the deadline anyway.
The USGA intends to make the U.S. Open
the
most rigorous, yet fair, examination of golf
skills, testing all forms of shot-making. The
USGA prepares the course after careful
consideration of 14 different factors.
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