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Neal Shipley arrived at the 2024 Masters on the back of his runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado last year. The 23-year-old golfer realized a dream when he got to play alongside Tiger Woods in the final round at Augusta on Sunday (April 14). Interestingly, the players seem to have a good time with each other on the course.
Interestingly, Woods reportedly had an odd exchange with Shipley during the play. During the amateur golfer’s press conference, a reporter claimed that Woods wrote something down on a note and handed it to Shipley on the eighth fairway. However, Shipley denied the exchange. He said that the incident didn't happen.
The reporter doubled down on the question and said he thought he saw Woods hand Neal Shipley something. However, the young golfer cleared his stance and once again denied the incident before ending the presser.
The mysterious reaction from Shipley raised some fans’ eyebrows. While a few fans sided with the reporter and said they also saw the exchange, a few others rubbished the question.
However, a few took the opportunity to crack jokes on the 15-time major champion’s behavior in the past. A social media user shed light on the time Woods handed Justin Thomas a tampon. Notably, the ace golfer was forced to apologize for the incident that took place during the 2023 Genesis Invitational.
“Was it a tamp*n??” the user wrote on X (formerly Twitter)
“First line of the “note” - “I didn’t write this note”,” a user wrote.
Another golfer backed Shipley’s answer and wrote, “If you want to be friends with tiger, great answer.”
“It happened. I thought it was an autograph on a scorecard,” a user wrote while confirming the exchange.
Interestingly, a user even said Woods might’ve shared his Phone number. Meanwhile, some were unhappy with the reporter’s question.
“Why even ask this? What reporter is asking gotcha questions?” a user wrote.
“Maybe that reporter should mind his own business,” another user noted.
"He’s such a normal guy and really cool"- Neal Shipley on playing with Tiger Woods
Neal Shipley impressively made the Friday cut at the 2024 Masters. However, he didn’t stop there. The Pittsburgh native won the Low Amateur in the competition. He carded a final-round 1-over 73 to finish at 12 over for the week. Notably, he played the final round alongside Tiger Woods.
The young golfer said it was “really cool to be around” the five-time champion. Interestingly, he noted that the duo talked about different topics ranging from golf to Woods’ son Charlie.
Detailing his experience, Neal Shipley said (via Golfweek):
“Today being out there 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."
It is pertinent to note that Neal Shipley has another major start this season. The star amateur will tee up at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst this summer. It’ll be interesting to see if he gets to play alongside Woods again.
