Neal Shipley has locked in a spot on the PGA Tour for the 2026 season. He shared a post on Instagram following the reveal, saying that he intends to remain persistent in his game as he makes his debut on the professional circuit next year.
Shipley’s post featured a video of himself lighting a cigar on the course while wearing a cap that read “Tour Bound.” In the next slide, he was photographed smiling and holding up his PGA Tour card. He wrote in the caption:
“Smoking hot year on the @kornferrytour!!! Let’s keep the momentum rolling on the big tour!!”
Earlier, the 24-year-old golfer shared another picture of himself smoking a cigar. This time, the caption read:
“Ship Stogie. 💨 #TOURBound.”
At the beginning of the year, Shipley shared that one of his biggest goals was to secure a PGA Tour card. JLab shared a video of the young golfer driving a golf cart and speaking about his ambitions.
“On the Korn Ferry Tour right now, my big goal is to hopefully win the points list and or not that, at least, can secure a PGA Tour card for next year. I mean, I want to play golf on the PGA Tour, so that’s the main goal is to play well enough to get status out there,” Shipley said.
Neal Shipley secured his PGA Tour card after winning twice on the Korn Ferry Tour this year. He also has five consecutive top-10 finishes, including a tie for third at the NV5 Invitational and a tie for fifth in the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS.
Neal Shipley says he’s a ‘big math guy’
After Neal Shipley won the second Korn Ferry Tour event that sealed the deal for his PGA Tour card, the Korn Ferry Tour shared a post on Instagram, highlighting interesting facts about the 24-year-old.
Shipley may be a pro golfer, but he is also skilled in other areas. He majored in Quantitative Finance and has a minor in Math and Econ.
The two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner shared that last year, his caddie would print out SAT math problems and they would solve them together on the course. He added that his favorite equation is Ito’s Lemma and stressed that solving math problems usually helps to relax him when he’s on the course.
“I’ve always been a big math guy, big stats guy,” Neal Shipley said.
Shipley won the LECOM Suncoast Classic in April, marking his first Korn Ferry Tour win. He scored 18-under 266 after four rounds and headed into a playoff with Lee Seung-taek, whom he defeated by making a birdie on the fifth extra hole.
After the Suncoast Classic, Neal Shipley won The Ascendant in July. He clinched the title with 18-under 270, defeating Kevin Dougherty and Jorge Fernandez-Valdes by one stroke.