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09/18 17:57 CDT Neal Shipley posts 62 for a 1-shot lead with time running out
on his PGA Tour rookie season
Neal Shipley posts 62 for a 1-shot lead with time running out on his PGA Tour
rookie season
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) --- Neal Shipley gave his forgettable rookie season on the
PGA Tour a glimmer of hope Friday when he got off to a torrid start and
finished with a 9-under 62, giving him a one-shot lead over Ben Kohles in the
inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville.
Kohles closed the gap in a hurry with an eagle-birdie finish for a 63 as he
tries to erase memories of a pair of close calls and chases his first PGA Tour
title.
The Biltmore Championship Asheville is the first of eight tournaments in the
FedEx Cup Fall that determine the top 100 in the FedEx Cup who keep full cards
for next season.
Shipley earned his card off the Korn Ferry Tour, but he has missed 11 cuts in
his 19 tournaments this year and is likely headed back to the Korn Ferry Tour
unless he turns it around quickly. He is at No. 183 in the FedEx Cup standings.
A victory, of course, would not only give him a two-year exemption, it would
secure him for the more lucrative Championship Series in 2028 when the tour
revamps its schedule.
A score like this --- matched by Ricky Castillo, who was four shots behind in
third place --- was sorely needed for Shipley.
"I had a great year last year," Shipley said. "Start of the season wasn't
really what we wanted. Been kind of clawing back to get my game back where it
should be. I feel like a lot of that work is finally showing. It's weird. Golf
is one of those sports where you don't get instant gratification. You got to
work for a long time to see results.
"I feel like I'm seeing kind of the fruits of that labor," he said. "And really
pumped about where we are right now."
Shipley was at 15-under 127. He opened with two birdies, and then hit his
second shot to 10 feet on the par-5 third hole. He went out in 6-under 29, kept
bogeys off his card all day and had three more birdies on the back nine.
Shipley has played the par 5s in 9 under through 36 holes, key to The Cliffs at
Walnut Grove where the longest of the par 5s in the second round was at 536
yards --- that plays closer to par 4s in the modern era of power.
Kohles had a great chance to win the John Deere Classic until pulling his
approach into the water on the 18th hole. He also made bogey on the closing
hole of The CJ Cup Byron Nelson who years ago, losing by one shot.
Now he has another opportunity after hitting 9-iron for his second shot on the
par-5 17th to 20 feet for eagle, and closing with a 15-foot birdie.
"I keep putting myself in these positions. That's all I can ask for," Kohles
said. "We work so hard to get in these spots, so I feel like I've learned a lot
the last few months. ... I know I can do it, it's just a matter of going out
and doing it. So we'll see what the weekend has in store."
Jacob Bridgeman had a 67 to lead the seven players who will be at the
Presidents Cup next week at Medinah. That still left him six shots behind
Shipley. It wasn't a great showing for the Internationals, with Nick Taylor the
only one of their five Presidents Cup players to make the cut.
___
Online: https://www.pgatour.com/
