In two-way race for U.S. Open low amateur, Neal Shipley endures penalty stroke

PINEHURST, N.C. – Neal Shipley was rolling late Saturday morning at Pinehurst No. 2, birdieing five of his first 10 holes to claw back to even par for the championship.

And then he wasn’t.

It all started at the par-4 13th hole, where Shipley drove it to an awkward 54 yards from the hole. Even from the fairway, Shipley couldn’t find the green, his ball failing to get legs and rolling back toward him. As he addressed his third shot, from about 25 yards, Shipley’s ball moved, and Shipley was penalized a shot (he was deemed to have caused the ball to move). He ended up making a double bogey.

“Personally, I don’t feel he caused the ball to move,” said Shipley’s playing competitor, Aaron Rai. “I don’t think it should have been a one-shot penalty. But the USGA officials deemed it to be that way. Unfortunate really.”

Two bogeys, at Nos. 15 and 16, knocked Shipley, the reigning Masters low amateur, back to 4 over, where he finished. He’s tied with Florida State junior Luke Clanton, the only other amateur to make the cut and who fired a second consecutive 69 on Saturday to become the first amateur ever to accomplish that feat at the U.S. Open, according to Elias Sports Bureau.