Scarlet Sunrise: Neal Shipley fires impressive opening-round 71 at Masters
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Neal Shipley fires impressive opening-round 71 at Masters
Ohio State golfer Neal Shipley earned an invitation to the 88th edition of The Masters by finishing runner-up at the US Amateur last August. He made the most of his first round of his first appearance at a major championship on Thursday.
Shipley fired an opening-round 71 in the first round at Augusta National on Thursday, finishing one-under for the day and in a tie for 17th. He’s currently tied with notable superstars such as Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay and Cameron Smith, among others.
The highlight of Shipley’s round was a 14-foot birdie putt he rolled in — and then pumped his fist in celebration after. That putt was a good confidence builder on the second nine at Augusta, and it ultimately kept him under par for the day.
Shipley is currently the only amateur under par, and he’s three shots clear of the next-lowest amateur.
His second round will get underway on Friday at 8:24 a.m. from Augusta National Golf Club.
***READ MORE about Neal Shipley HERE***
Baylor’s Luke Simons joining Jake Diebler’s staff as assistant
Jake Diebler’s coaching staff is coming into focus. The new Buckeyes head coach made his third hire of the week, this time bringing aboard Baylor director of basketball operations Luke Simons.
“I’m excited to welcome Luke as he’s going to be a great addition to our staff,” Diebler said in a statement Thursday. “He has the ability to connect with players at every level and his versatility is really important. He’s been on staff at the collegiate level, and he has international coaching experience as well. Those experiences are going to be valuable for our program as we move forward.”
Simons will serve as an assistant coach under Diebler, joining a new-look staff that also includes fellow assistants Dave Dickerson and Jamall Walker as well as associate head coach Joel Justus.
Simons spent the last two years at Baylor, during which the Scott Drew-led Bears won a combined 47 games and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. Diebler’s connections to the Drew family are well documented. Diebler played for Homer Drew and Bryce Drew at Valparaiso and then coached with Bryce at both Valparaiso and Vanderbilt.
Recruiting storylines ahead of annual Ohio State Spring Game
Ohio State is a mere two days away from its annual spring game. While the glorified spring practice takes place in Ohio Stadium, fans are present, game-day uniforms are worn and other game-day-like things take place, the Buckeyes use their spring game as a major recruiting event.
There are 140 days between the spring game and the Buckeyes’ season opener against Akron. This means it’s that many days until visiting prospects are inside the Horseshoe.
Lettermen Row looks at five storylines ahead of the annual spring game and what to expect on Saturday.
READ: Recruiting storylines ahead of annual Ohio State Spring Game
Counting Down
Buckeyes vs. Akron: 142 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 233 days
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