Neal Shipley, a Central Catholic High School grad and member at St. Clair Country Club, has advanced to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in Denver.
Shipley, the 2022 Pennsylvania Amateur and West Penn Open champion who was runner-up at the Sunnehanna Amateur in June, defeated Cooper Jones, 3 and 2, on Thursday to advance to the round of eight.
Shipley, 22, who transferred from James Madison to Ohio State last year, is the latest player from Western Pennsylvania to advance to the semifinal round of the 123-year-old championship. However, no player from the area has won the U.S. Amateur since Latrobe’s Arnold Palmer did it in 1954.
Palmer Jackson of Murrysville made it to the quarterfinal round in 2020 before he was eliminated. Nine-time West Penn Amateur champ and former U.S. Senior Amateur champ Sean Knapp did it twice (1995, 1998), as did four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champ Nathan Smith (2000, 2014).
In addition to Palmer, two other players from Western Pennsylvania have won the U.S. Amateur. William Fownes, the son of the founder of Oakmont Country Club, won the title in 1910. And Davidson Herron won the championship in 1919 at Oakmont, his home course.
First Published: August 18, 2023, 4:41 p.m.
