Monday qualifiers: Neal Shipley advances to Shriners Chi in 6-for-1 playoff
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It has been the year of Neal Shipley, and it's not over yet.
The newly minted pro, who was low amateur at this year's Masters and U.S. Open, Monday qualified for this week's Shriners Children's Open in a 6-for-1 playoff. Shipley was one of six players to post 7-under 64 at Las Vegas' Spanish Trail Country Club & Golf Course, after Lanto Griffin (62), Morgan Hoffmann (63) and Nicolo Galletti (63) earned the first three of four available spots in this week's field.
Shipley outlasted a quintet of players (Grant Hirschman, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, Blaine Hale, Will Chandler and Kevin Tway) in Monday's playoff for the final spot. Shipley, who played three collegiate seasons at James Madison and his last two at Ohio State, finished No. 20 on the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas season-long Fortinet Cup and is exempt into PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry's Second Stage, which begins in late November. He has made seven cuts in eight PGA TOUR starts this year, highlighted by a T6 at the ISCO Championship; he also finished T53 at the Masters and T26 at the U.S. Open, becoming the second player in the last quarter-century to earn low amateur honors at the same year’s Masters and U.S. Open, joining Viktor Hovland in 2019.
"The Mondays are such a crapshoot, and to finally get through one ... is great," Shipley said afterward. "It's a roller coaster of emotions throughout the day, and it's great to have this feeling ... It's really huge to get into one of these and get a bonus tournament this fall.
"Been bouncing around and playing a lot of golf, but it's been a really great experience. I'm really excited to be at another PGA TOUR event. I live for these moments."
The Shriners Children's Open, the fourth leg of the eight-event FedExCup Fall, will be contested at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. The 72-hole, stroke-play event is slated for Thursday-Sunday.
PGA TOUR's Elise Tallent contributed to this report.
Here's a capsule look at the four qualifiers:
Lanto Griffin (9-under 62)
Age: 36
Hometown: Mount Shasta, California
Alma mater: Virginia Commonwealth
PGA TOUR starts: 144
Cuts made: 93
Best PGA TOUR finish: Win, 2019 Texas Children's Houston Open
Notes: Has made 14 of 18 cuts on TOUR this season; currently ranks No. 174 on FedExCup Fall standings. Began 2024 season on a Major Medical Extension but failed to accrue enough points to retain top-125 or 126-150 conditional status; he then reverted to Past Champion status … In addition to earning first TOUR title at the 2019 Texas Children’s Houston Open, he holds two Korn Ferry Tour titles (2017 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, 2019 Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Championship) … Shared a two-bedroom loft apartment with fellow TOUR pro Rafael Campos while at VCU.
Morgan Hoffmann (8-under 63)
Age: 35
Hometown: Franklin Lakes, New Jersey
Alma mater: Oklahoma State
PGA TOUR starts: 167
Cuts made: 89
Best PGA TOUR finish: Runner-up, 2017 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches
Notes: Finished No. 93 on 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List to retain conditional status, including a tie for third at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation in the season’s third-to-last event (his first TOUR-sanctioned top-10 finish since 2017) to vault from No. 136 to No. 90 at the time. The top 100 on the season-long standings retained conditional status at minimum … Following his facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy diagnosis, launched the Morgan Hoffmann Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for muscular dystrophy and improving the physical and mental wellness of those in the fight against neuromuscular diseases. Was the recipient of the 2020 PGA TOUR Courage Award … Earned his pilot’s license in November 2014.
Nicolo Galletti (8-under 63)
Age: 29
Hometown: Berkeley, California
Alma mater: Arizona State
PGA TOUR starts: 1
Cuts made: 1
Best PGA TOUR finish: 73rd, 2024 WM Phoenix Open
Notes: Made 44 career starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica; finished No. 34 on the circuit's season-long Totalplay Cup in both 2020-21 and 2022 ... Played collegiately at Arizona State from 2013 to 2017; his older brother Roberto played college golf at the University of Arizona ... Found great success on the Outlaw Tour during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Neal Shipley (7-under 64, advanced in playoff)
Age: 23
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Alma mater: James Madison, Ohio State
PGA TOUR starts: 8
Cuts made: 7
Best PGA TOUR finish: T6, 2024 ISCO Championship
Notes: Finished runner-up at 2023 U.S. Amateur to qualify for the 2024 Masters and U.S. Open ... Notched four top-25 finishes in five PGA TOUR Americas starts this summer, highlighted by a T2 at the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open and a solo third at the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens ... Completed his quantative finance degree at James Madison in three years to go along with minors in math and economics.