Former Ohio State golfer Neal Shipley is headed to the PGA Tour. The 24-year-old is the third Korn Ferry Tour player to secure PGA Tour status for 2026.
The developmental circuit made the announcement on Aug. 13 after crunching the numbers.
Shipley played three years of collegiate golf at James Madison before transferring to Ohio State for the 2023-24 season. Originally from Pittsburgh, Shipley finished as the low amateur at the 2024 Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus as the only two Ohio State golfers to achieve that feat. He was also low amateur at the 2024 U.S. Open.
On the Korn Ferry Tour, Shipley has two wins and a streak of five straight top-10 finishes. The most recent came three days ago when he tied for eighth at the Pinnacle Bank Championship in Omaha, Nebraska.
Shipley is the third Korn Ferry Tour member to lock down a Tour card for next year. He could earn an immediate promotion for the rest of 2025 (not counting the FedEx Cup Playoff tournaments) with a third win in 2025 via the Three-Victory Promotion.
Johnny Keefer and Austin Smotherman, who each have two KFT wins in 2025, are also on the cusp of an immediate promotion.
Those three golfers will be considered PGA Tour rookies in 2026.
A total of 20 Korn Ferry Tour players will earn a PGA Tour card for 2026 by the end of the 2025 KFT season. That number is down from 30 from a year ago.
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