Ohio State's Neal Shipley punches his ticket to the 2023 U.S. Amateur Finals
Ohio State’s Neal Shipley is one win away from the most coveted prize that any college golfer could ever dream of. He punched his ticket to the 2023 U.S. Amateur Finals at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado on Saturday evening.
Shipley was one up in his semifinal match against John Marshall Butler, when he hit an absolute beauty of a third shot. Shipley striped his iron over the water and onto the back edge of the 17th green, where he spun it all the way back within about a foot of the hole.
Check out the beautiful shot here.
The shot sealed the deal for Shipley, winning his match over John Marshall Butler, he was up two with one hole remaining. He also punched his ticket to tomorrow’s championship match with Nick Dunlap of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They’ll battle it out for the most coveted prize in all of amateur golf–the Havemeyer Trophy.
Shipley battled back from three holes down thru 10 against John Marshall Butler, to prevail victorious. He certainly saved his best stuff for when it mattered the most on Saturday.
Both players will face off in a 36-hole match play marathon on Sunday. There will be two 18-hole rounds, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Shipley and Dunlap are set to tee off at 10:00 AM EST on Sunday morning for their morning round.
Dunlap won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2021 and finished an impressive freshman season this year for the Alabama Crimson Tide. If he can win on Sunday, he’ll end up joining Tiger Woods as the only golfers to win both the U.S. Junior Amateur and the U.S. Amateur crowns.
Dunlap defeated Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent in the first round of this year’s U.S. Amateur 2 & 1 to advance. Sargent generated plenty of buzz in this year’s U.S. Open and Master’s. He finished as the low amateur in the 2023 U.S. Open.
For a full look at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Bracket, you can check that out here.
Shipley vs. Dunlap will be a battle of Ohio State vs. Alabama
This season for the Buckeyes, Shipley has recorded five Top 20 finishes and one Top 10. Before joining Ohio State, he also won the 2022 Pennsylvania State Amateur at Llanerch Country Club. Shipley played for three seasons for the JMU Dukes, finishing with a pair of Top 10 finishes in the 2019-2020 campaign. He also won the 2019 Western Pennsylvania Junior Championship on the third playoff hole.
Dunlap not only won the U.S. Junior Amateur crown, but he also qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open. He’s had a very impressive summer–winning the Northeast Amateur Title at the end of June. Then, he won the North & South Amateur Championship a week later.
After his impressive freshman season at Alabama, Dunlap was named a second team Ping All-American and first team All-SEC. He finished the season ranked as the No. 16 player in the nation, according to the Golfweek individual player rankings. The Tuscaloosa native led the Crimson Tide in average strokes per round (70.35), which ranks as the second lowest per round single season average in program history. He also finished in the Top 10 four times this year. At the 2023 NCAA Championships, Dunlap placed 11th overall, carding a 280 for 72-holes (74-68-66-72).
The championship match is set to be televised on the Golf Channel on Sunday from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST. It will also be televised on NBC from 4:00 PM EST to 6:00 PM EST.