Pittsburgh Central Catholic graduates teaming up as player and caddie duo at Masters tournament
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- One of Pittsburgh's own will be in the field for this week's Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and he'll have one of his good friends and fellow classmates from Central Catholic carrying his bag caddying for him.
Neal Shipley graduated from Central Catholic in 2019 and earned his entry into the 88th playing of The Masters by finishing second at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship last summer.
Shipley played his college golf at James Madison before transferring to Ohio State and this week at Augusta, fellow Central Catholic graduate Carter Pitcairn will be caddying for him just like he did during the Amateur last year.
Shipley surprised Pitcairn over Thanksgiving break when he invited him to caddie for him at The Masters and the two friends have known each other for about a decade.
Pitcairn became somewhat of a local legend just a couple of summers back when he caddied for Austin Greaser, who finished second when the U.S. Amateur Championship was held here at Oakmont Country Club.
His patience and demeanor made for a successful match with Greaser and the Wisconsin Badgers golfer is now hoping to keep that energy going for Shipley for this week's Masters tournament.
"I feel ready," Shipley said to reporters earlier this week. "I like to feed off this energy and just really enjoy the moment. I don't feel uncomfortable at all."
Shipley's opening round of the tournament will get underway tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. when grouped with former champion Mike Weir and Ryo Hisatsune.
Live coverage of this year's Masters tournament will be available on CBS and ESPN in addition to numerous streaming services including Paramount+.
