Only 31 players were under par after the first round of The Masters on Thursday, and Central Catholic graduate Neal Shipley is one of them.
The 22-year-old amateur from Mt. Lebanon shot a 1-under-par 71 at Augusta National, making three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars.
Shipley, who golfed collegiately at James Madison before transferring to Ohio State, qualified for The Masters by finishing as runner-up at the U.S. Amateur. He was the top amaetur in the field Thursday, three shots better than Christo Lamprecht and Stewart Hagestad, who each finished at 2-over.
“I’m really an experienced tournament player, especially at the amateur level,” said Shipley, the first player from Western Pennsylvania to reach the U.S. Amateur finals since Arnold Palmer in 1954. “I’ve had to deal with conditions and hitting all these different shots under pressure. This week is going to be no different. It’s just golf.”
Shipley is six strokes off the lead held by Bryson DeChambeau. He is tied with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, among others.
The Associated Press contributed.
