OSU’s Neal Shipley talked Masters golf with Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus
Neal Shipley explains what it was like playing the the Masters with Tiger Woods, and how he became a meme during his few minutes in Butler Cabin
- Former Ohio State golfer Neal Shipley has gained notoriety for his long hair, which has become a staple of his public image.
- Shipley’s fame grew after finishing as the low amateur at the 2024 Masters, where he played the final round with Tiger Woods.
- With two Korn Ferry Tour wins this season, Shipley has already secured enough points to earn his PGA Tour card for next year.
- He is set to compete in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship at the OSU Scarlet Course.
Neal Shipley’s mullet-esque cut is not a case of hair today, gone tomorrow. The flowing mane will remain, whether he likes it or not.
It’s called riding your celebrity calling card to the bank.
“I can’t cut it now,” said Shipley, the former Ohio State golfer who returns to the OSU Scarlet Course Sept. 18-22 for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. “It can be annoying. When you’re out here, like in Nebraska and it’s 100 degrees, long hair does not help. But it seems to be a little bit of a staple.”
Indeed. Shipley’s golf club sponsor, Ping, made that much clear in November, telling him if he cut his shoulder-length brown locks, the advertisement he was scheduled to appear in would not run.
“Before (Ping) got us to do the commercials, it was, ‘If Neal shows up with short hair the commercial is done. He’s not in it. He needs to have long hair.’ ” Shipley said.
Needless to say, the “do” didn’t disappear.
Neal Shipley’s fame so far not fleeting
It’s not always easy being famous, having to keep your hair long, or for super celebrities wearing disguises into grocery stores and checking into hotels under pseudonyms, but notoriety can be lucrative, and even fun.
“I have a nice watch now. I have nice things,” said Shipley, whose two Korn Ferry wins this season helped him amass nearly $540,000, not counting his handful of endorsement deals. “I’m certainly anything but the common 24-year-old in terms of a lot of things golf has afforded me to do. Not every 24-year-old gets to travel the world as a job and make a really good living doing it. So I feel blessed.”
And also noticed. After every tournament, fans ask for Shipley’s signature, and he gladly accommodates their request.
“Kids waiting on the back of 18 green to get my autograph, that’s the stuff I love to do,” he said, recalling how thrilled he was to meet PGA Tour players when he attended the U.S. Open near his home in Pittsburgh. “It’s fun to have groups following me during events. We like having big crowds out here, and I’m looking forward to having a big following in Columbus.”
Shipley, who because of his No. 3 position on the Korn Ferry points standings already has earned his PGA Tour card for next year, first gained national attention by finishing runner-up at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, where his long hair, hefty body type and “everyman” persona – Waffle House has been one of his go-to eateries – endeared him to the crowds. The second-place finish at the amateur won him an invitation to the 2024 Masters and U.S. Open. He finished low amateur at both events, but it was at the Masters where his fame found a solid foothold. Shipley was the only amateur to make the cut, then played the final round with Tiger Woods, carding a 73 to Woods’ 77.
“I got lucky with that, playing with Tiger, who doesn’t just move the needle. He is the needle,” Shipley said of walking 18 holes with Woods. “I was able to be in the featured group with him, and we were the only ones out there for nine holes that were on TV. It was a cool opportunity that I was able to capitalize on … with three to five opportunities I’ve gotten over the last year and half.”
Shipley’s good fortune kept coming after finishing his final round with Woods. He became a social media meme when his eyes kept darting to the side during the post-tournament ceremony in Butler Cabin.
Just like that, a star was born, one that began shooting across the sky, or at least the airwaves, when Shipley appeared on the third season of the Netflix golf documentary “Full Swing,” which debuted in April.
The day after its release, Shipley was playing a Korn Ferry tournament in Argentina when a man outside the hospitality tent yelled at him, “You’re the Netflix guy.”
“I guess that’s me now,” Shipley said, smiling.
Golf fans may know him as the Netflix guy, but on the Korn Ferry Tour he’s just another rookie trying to make a living while learning the ins and outs of life as a professional.
Shipley narrowly missed earning his PGA Tour card during qualifying school in December, but now that he secured his card for 2026 he can look back and say that spending a year on the Korn Ferry Tour allowed him to adjust to a more serious side of golf.
Shipley, who lives in Palm Beach, Florida, has learned that veteran pros are less interested in where he stands with his hair than where he stands when they’re teeing off.
“Professional golfers are maybe a little, I wouldn’t say softer, but there are certain things that bother them,” Shipley said, explaining that learning the do’s and don’ts of protocol took time.
Golf pros can be picky about where you plant your feet
“Like where you stand, and making noise,” he said. “College kids don’t care, but when you’re playing with a veteran who has been around for 20 years on the PGA Tour, and you’re standing in the wrong spot or rustling through your bag, that ticks them off. So it’s been good to learn the ropes out there for a year and get my feet wet.”
Unlike Samson, Shipley’s long hair is not the strength of his power game. (He last had it slightly shortened about three months ago). He ranks fourth on tour in total driving, and tee shots remain his main asset and security blanket. His approach shots from 150 yards and in are more on target than ever, and his putting is much improved.
“Ask coach Mo (Ohio State golf coach Jay Moseley), if he needed someone to two-putt from 60 feet to save his life, I probably was not the one he would have picked,” Shipley said. “But my speed putting is much improved, and I have fewer bogeys from doing dumb stuff.”
Shipley is among the favorites to win this week at Scarlet, where he has a definite homefield advantage.
“It’s the second of two (Korn Ferry finals events) for us, and the end of a really long season,” he said. “Maybe guys will be a little low on energy, and a lot of guys could be super stressed out trying to learn the golf course. I’ve seen Scarlet in all types of conditions and know how some of the teeshots react. I’ve seen it all out here and know where the jail (trouble) is.”
What he doesn’t know is the location of the nearest barbershop.
“My hairdresser at home might kill me if I start getting my hair cut at Great Clips,” he said. “My girl in Pittsburgh is the only one to touch it.”
And she knows the three words that matter: Just a trim.
Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at roller@dispatch.com and on X.com at @rollerCD.
Read his columns from the Buckeyes’ national championship season in “Scarlet Reign,” a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Dispatch. Details at OhioState.Champs.com
