Neal Shipley reflects on The Masters, Tiger Woods on 'The Pat McAfee Show'
Neal Shipley had a memorable first experience at The Masters.
The Ohio State men's golf graduate student finished as the low amateur at the 2024 Masters, becoming the first OSU golfer to earn the Silver Cup since Jack Nicklaus in 1960. And in the final round of the tournament, Shipley was paired with Tiger Woods.
In an appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show" Tuesday, Shipley said his weekend at Augusta National Gold Course was something he would never forget.
"Playing with Tiger Woods was the coolest day of my life and you can't beat that..
It was unbelievable and it was a once in a lifetime opportunity" ~ Neal Shipley #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/ASssTmdy8V— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 16, 2024
"That was the freaking coolest day of my life," Shipley said. "That was, can't beat that. Tiger was so cool. That's probably once in a lifetime for me. He doesn't play very much anymore, and who knows when I will be back in a situation playing with him. Gosh, it was unbelievable."
Shipley was the only amateur golfer to make the cut for The Masters. He finished the final round 1-over 72 to finish at 12 over.
"It was big for me to play under that type of pressure... I just got a lot of confidence during the week that my game can kind of travel and play against those guys," Shipley said. "That's the goal is to be playing against those guys every week. And I think I can go do that now. I feel really good about my game and learned a lot about what I need to work on to even get sharper and start competing for those green jackets."
. @OhioStateMGOLF | #GoBucks https://t.co/LF6YmqPoYA
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) April 14, 2024
In his first PGA Tour event, Shipley said he realized he doesn't need to "be anyone special" to compete against professionals.
"There's no real special sauce to being the best player in the world," Shipley said. "It's just a lot of hard work and consistency in your preparation."
Shipley, who called Woods' compliments "freaking sick," said being paired with the golf legend will only help him moving forward.
"I think it's the best thing for my career, possibly, honestly. The amount of attention I got from just that is unbelievable."
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'The Pat McAfee Show': Neal Shipley talks 2024 Masters, Tiger Woods
