A single putt made all the difference for 12 pro golfers at the Valspar Championship on Friday, turning what could have been a disappointing weekend into a payday.
The drama unfolded on the ninth hole – Neal Shipley’s final hole of the day. The situation was crystal clear: if he made par, the cut would stay at one-over, sending 12 players home. If he bogeyed, those same players would get to play the weekend and earn a check.
The tension was real.
Shipley found himself in trouble off the tee, landing in a fairway bunker. With no clear shot at the green, he had to chip out to the fairway.
Now 105 yards out, the 24-year-old faced a make-or-break moment. He got the ball on the green, but his par putt slid past the hole.
PGA Tour pro Michael Kim was literally sitting in his courtesy car at the airport, refreshing the Tour app to see his fate.
"Neal just made 12 new friends," Kim tweeted after the putt missed.
Shipley had a sense of humor about his role as the day’s hero. "Everyone knows where my locker room is," he joked. "They can feel free to leave some Waffle House gift cards in there for me."
Among the grateful players who squeaked in were former Masters champion Adam Scott and several Tour rookies.
Even the biggest names in golf feel the pressure of making cuts. Justin Thomas, a two-time major champion, admitted it’s actually "more nerve-wracking than trying to win a golf tournament."
"You feel it way before the final few holes," Thomas said. "I’m literally nine holes from leading the golf tournament right now, and I might not even get to play this weekend."
Just last week, major winner Shane Lowry tweeted after making the cut at The Players: "Sometimes just making the cut means a lot to us out here. Very happy to have a tee time this weekend."
Thomas ended up finishing at one-over-par – just enough to make it to the weekend.
For pro golfers, the difference between playing and going home early can come down to someone else’s single stroke. On Friday at Valspar, Neal Shipley’s bogey turned out to be a lucky break for a dozen of his fellow competitors.
