Central Catholic grad Neal Shipley reaches U.S. Amateur semifinals

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, August 18, 2023 | 7:24 PM

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Central Catholic graduage and Ohio State grad student Neal Shipley has reached the semifinals of the 123^rd annual United States Golf Association’s Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club in New Jersey.

Shipley, 22, won his fourth consecutive match play round when he defeated Andi Xu of the People’s Republic of China, 2 and 1. Shipley took advantage of two Xi miscues on Nos. 15 and 17. Xi was seeded seventh.

He will face Auburn senior Marshall Butler in Saturday’s semifinals. Both are college All-Americans. Shipley was seeded No. 47.

“This one is pretty special because I started out kind of slow and had to claw back,” Shipley said in a USGA report. “I got up, and then he got me, and then just kind of won those two near the end. It’s tough. You’ve just got to stay mentally in it the whole time.”

Shipley transferred to Ohio State after spending three years at James Madison.

He defeated Wenyl Ding of the People’s Republic of China, 1-up, in the Round of 64. He won two matches Thursday. He defeated Calum Scott of Scotland in 20 holes in the Round of 32, and then Cooper Jones of Highlands, Utah, 3 and 2 in the Round of 16.

“You’ve got to beat so many good players, and I’ve had a lot of really rough matches,” Shipley said. “Just getting here is fun, but getting to the semifinals is just awesome, and having a chance to win Saturday for a lot of really good opportunities is great.”

Shipley is having quite a summer. He was the runner-up in the Sunnehanna Amateur and the Trans-Mississippi Amateur. He tied for second at the Dogwood Invitational and tied for third in the Pacific Coast Amateur.

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

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