Neal Shipley wins 2025 Ascendant Korn Ferry Tour event

Shipley started the day seven strokes off the lead

By Jim Bebbington

Good things happen for Neal Shipley when he plays golf in Colorado.

Shipley and his shaggy mullet-esque haircut rose to national awareness by finishing second in the 2023 U.S. Amateur played at Cherry Hills Country Club.

Sunday he climbed from seven strokes back on the final day to win the Ascendant presented by Blue Korn Ferry Tour event at TPC Colorado. The win all-but guarantees that Shipley will earn one of 20 coveted PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season.

Shipley shot 18-under for the four day tournament, winning by one stroke Sunday over Jorge Fernandez-Valdes and Kevin Dougherty.

Shipley began the day at 10-under, seven shots behind day-three leader Ross Steelman.

“I thought I had absolutely no chance,” he said.

But he opened Sunday with a flurry of birdies and a chip-in for eagle on No. 6 to quickly climb the leaderboard. He was 8-under after 10 holes.

“That’s what they call a hot start,” he joked afterward.

He said he expected Steelman to be making similar progress, but most of the other names on the leaderboard failed to make birdies at the same rate. Steelman shot three-over for his Sunday round; Shipley shot 8-under on the day. He made the turn having shot a 29 on the front nine of TPC Colorado.

“I knew then making the turn and watching the leaderboard that Ross wasn’t playing great so I might have a chance if I could get into the clubhouse with a few more birdies,” he said.

His wheels finally wobbled on the 700-yard No. 13, a par 5. His drive landed in the right rough, and with a bad lie he hit his second shot about 150 yards. He had 250 more to the green and landed wide, then chipped back and forth and finished with a double-bogey.

On the very next tee, however, he hit his tee shot to 20 feet on the 273-yard par 3 No. 14. His ball rolled just inches from the cup on the drive, and Shipley sank the birdie putt coming back.

“That felt like a bonus birdie for sure,” he said. “But it was good to get that, bouncing back from the double, definitely was huge for us.”

His final birdie came on No. 18, as he sank a 20-footer and went to the driving range to wait for Dougherty and Fernandez-Valdes to finish.

Shipley won on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this season – the LECOM Suncoast Classic – and this second win put him in fourth place on the Korn Ferry points list. The top 20 at the end of their season get PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season.

“I knew (getting) 300 or 400 more points I’d have a good chance, and to get it all in one chunk is awesome,” he said.

Shipley began the week with a friendly round at Cherry Hills Country Club, hosted again by the family he stayed with during the 2023 U.S. Amateur. He played the Ascendant with a Cherry Hills CC bag tag still attached to his golf bag.

“It’s such a cool golf course, a special place, and definitely a special place in my heart,” he said. “That’s where it all started.”

Fernandez-Valdes, 32, from Argentina, came millimeters from forcing a playoff. His birdie putt on No. 18 stopped and hung on the edge. He finished at 17-under par, one back.

Dougherty too had a birdie putt on No. 18, but it curled away from the cup at the last moment.

With the win Shipley earned $180,000.

Westminster’s Connor Jones finished tied for 24th at 9-under par.

The top 10 finishers at the 2025 Ascendant presented by Blue:

Winner – Neal Shipley – 18-under

T2 Jorge Fernandez Valdes – 17-under

T2 Kevin Dougherty – 17-under

T4 A. Smotherman – 14-under

T4 Zach Bauchou – 14-under

T4 Pierceson Coody – 14-under

T4 Cooper Dossey – 14-under

T4 Ross Steelman – 14-under

T9 Marcus Plunkett – 13-under

T9 Wilson Furr – 13-under