What's the real story behind Neal Shipley's side-eye with Jim Nantz?

USA Today

23-04-2025

What's the real story behind Neal Shipley's side-eye with Jim Nantz?
Neal Shipley continues to make waves in the all-too-often stuffy world of professional golf.
Offering a rapidly improving game and a relatable personality, the former Ohio State golfer is making quite a name for himself in golf circles. His latest foray into the media side of pro golf is a Q&A with Skratch reporter Dan Rapaport, who stars on the Netflix series 'Full Swing,' which features Shipley in its third season.
Rapaport released a video clip of the 'rapid fire' Q&A on April 20. It was another demonstration of Shipley's 'off the cuff' persona, including the backstory on his viral 'side-eye' glance during an interview at the 2024 Masters with Jim Nantz, then champion Scottie Scheffler, 2023 champion Jolkn Rahm and Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley.
'I am in there and I am like what in the (expletive) am I doing here?' Shipley said. 'The only thing I could think of is like, 'Let's not speak out of turn,' so I am looking at the teleprompter, and it's like, 'Jim Nantz is speaking about Neal.' I am looking for that line, and I am like, 'Okay, when's it coming? When's it coming?' And then I made a fool of myself. So that was hilarious.'
Shipley, who's from Pittsburgh, lists Vijay Singh as his favorite 'not-Tiger Woods' golfer to watch when he was young and picked a variety of pros when asked to 'build a player."
After transferring to OSU and playing one season for the Buckeyes, Shipley gained his biggest notoriety by finishing as the low amateur at the 2024 Masters and U.S. Open, and then appearing in "Full Swing."
On Sunday, Shipley won his first pro tournament, outlasting Seungtaek Lee in a five-hole playoff at the Korn Ferry Tour's LECOM SunCoast Classic at Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
He's ranked third on the Korn Ferry Tour and will earn his 2026 PGA Tour card if he finishes among the developmental tour's top 20 golfers.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at [e-mail] and @BrianHedger.bsky.social