Neal Shipley wins Low Amateur at the 2024 Masters after a dream Sunday with Tiger Woods

Neal Shipley wins the Low Amateur title at Augusta National.

He knew he was going to win Low Am on Friday but little did he know he’d be playing with Tiger Woods on Sunday

Neal Shipley has had a rollercoaster 12 months and has a pretty exciting 12 ahead too. He earned his spot at the 2024 Masters thanks to his runner-up finish to Nick Dunlap at the 2023 U.S. Amateur last summer. Now he will be leaving Augusta National having sat in the Butler Cabin as the Low Amateur, the only amateur to make the cut, and having played the final round with the company of none other than Tiger Woods.

A Sunday filled with Red, Shipley was seen exchanging words with the Big Cat himself all round long. For anyone, playing with Tiger would have you shaking on every tee shot but not for Shipley, the five-time Masters Champion made him feel at home straight away.

“You know, playing 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.”

Shipley made the cut at 5-over par and was the only amateur to make it through the cut beating fellow Crow’s Nest buddies Christo Lamprecht and Jasper Stubbs to the Low Am title. But they seemed to enjoy a fun night up in the Crow’s Nest before things got serious later in the week, as they relaxed and watched the Basketball.

“I stayed on Monday night with Christo and Jasper up there. It was really cool to experience being out there with those two guys. It’s a tight little room up there, but it was just really cool. We kind of watched the National Championship basketball game and got to hang out.”

Having been the only Amateur to make the cut Shipley went on to shoot 80 on Saturday and top the day off get what would turn out the be the best double bogey of his life! Little did he know it would result in him playing with Tiger on Masters Sunday.

“Obviously shooting 80 is never fun. Especially ending with a double. I wasn’t too pleased after the round.

We went quickly to the practice facility to get some work in. My caddie came up to me and said, “Hey, guess who we are going to be paired with tomorrow”?

I was just like, “No way it’s Tiger.”

And he said, “Yeah.”

I got pretty excited, and that’s when the emotions turned around.”

Shipley will play in the U.S. Open in June as well, and hope that this week’s experience will make him better for it.

“I was just kind of doing my thing and not doing anything special, that was good enough to make the cut and compete out here and beat a lot of players that are on the PGA TOUR,” Shipley said.

That included Tiger Woods. If nothing else, Shipley can say he bested the 15-time major winner at Augusta National.

After the week he has had, there should be plenty more to come for Neal Shipley, but as far as amateur experiences go this will be hard to beat! Winning the low amateur and walking round Augusta with none other than Tiger Woods on Sunday at Augusta National, sounds good to me.

About the Author

Will Shreeve-Peacock – Golf Equipment Writer

Will is an expert in golf shoes, GPS watches, rangefinders, and training aids.

He has a degree in journalism from Sheffield Hallam University and four years’ experience working in golf retail with American Golf where he was trained by a host of the big-name manufacturers.

A six-handicapper, Will has played golf for more than a decade and is a member at Burghley Park Golf Club in Stamford, Lincolnshire.