Tiger Woods Was Clearly Testing Neal Shipley By Handing Him A Note On The Fairway, And The Young Man Passed With Flying Colors
Andrew Redington. Getty Images.Neal Shipley had an all-time Sunday on his hands yesterday at Augusta. He already had the low-am locked up as the only amateur to make the cut at the 88th edition of The Masters. Thanks to a miserable Saturday round from the large cat, that locked the 23-year-old into a Sunday pairing with Tiger. Now had this been 10-15 years ago, that would result in quite possibly the most nerve shattering round of this young man's life. Having to play with your idol as he's laser focused on the golf course and doesn't give you the time of day until that final putt drops. But Tiger has done a ton over the last few years to really take on that mentor role in situations like this. Obviously it helps when he has absolutely no shot of winning the tournament, but Neal Shipley pretty much just got to enjoy a casual stroll with Tiger for a few hours yesterday.
Now the thing about Tiger is that he knows there's not a single move he can make on a golf course that isn't picked up by somebody. Any little wince, any little limp, every little anything gets picked up because he's Tiger Woods. Like when he handed Justin Thomas a tampon after outdriving him at The Genesis last year. He knows that if he's going to hand over a note to Neal Shipley in the middle of the fairway, some snot-nosed reporter is going to have a question about it after the round. This was a classic set up to see if he can trust Neal Shipley for the rest of his life or not.
Let's see how the young fella handled the test…
With ice in his veins!
"No, that didn't happen". Probably the 4 most important words for Neal Shipley's future career. There's a good chance that note was just Tiger's number telling him to call if he ever has any questions. You think Tiger is picking up that phone if Neal Shipley goes telling the media about that right after the round? No chance. But now that he can be sure that Neal Shipley knows how to deny 'till you die, he can trust him. Best lie of his life right there.