2 former Central Catholic golfers will play in the Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Two former Central Catholic golf teammates are competing together on golf’s biggest stage this weekend.

Neal Shipley is playing in his first Masters, while his childhood best friend Carter Pitcairn is serving as his caddie.

“I knew that if I had him as a looper, no matter what happened on the golf course, we’d always remember being at Augusta together for the whole week,” Shipley told Channel 11.

The two Pittsburgh natives have put a lot of miles on their friendship.

“We were the only two guys who lived in the South Hills on our team,” Shipley said. “I was Carter’s chauffeur for a whole year. We had a lot of time in the car together. That got us really close, and we’ve stayed just as close since then.”

Shipley called Pitcairn to be his caddie in a pinch last year for the semi-finals at the U.S. Amateur.

When Shipley qualified for the Masters, he knew exactly who he wanted to call.

“I decided in November that I wanted him at Augusta. So, it’s been awesome to have him here on property and a familiar face. He’s a really good player in his own right, so he has a lot of knowledge about golf and also my game.”

Aside from Pitcairn’s knowledge of the sport, Shipley says it will be nice to have piece of home close when the shots get tough.

“There’s gonna be lots of moments when I’m really nervous, and it’ll be just nice to have someone I know, someone who knows how to make me laugh on the golf course and make me calm again and kind of rake me back in.”

Shipley is a graduate student at Ohio State University.

Like Arnold Palmer, Shipley has won both the Junior and Open titles of Western Pennsylvania.

“All the hours I spent with a lot of guys playing courses in Western Pennsylvania golf events, it’s a real honor to represent the region.”

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