When Neal Shipley’s week began, his goal for the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall slate was clear: put the pedal down if he wanted to keep his card and playing privileges in 2027.
Shipley, 25, became a sensation when he notched low amateur honors at the 2024 Masters and starred in an episode of Netflix’s docuseries Full Swing. Since that week at Augusta, which included a final-round pairing with Tiger Woods, Shipley has been grinding his way to the PGA Tour. Last year, he won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour to finish fourth in the standings and punch his ticket to pro golf’s big time. But his rookie season has been far from what he imagined. He missed 9 of his first 10 cuts and only made 8 of 20 cuts in total. He did not record a top-25 finish on the season and entered this week’s Biltmore Championship in Asheville, N.C., — the first tournament of the FedEx Cup Fall season — sitting at 183 in the FedEx Cup standings.
Needing to finish in the top 100 to keep his card, Shipley faced a steep uphill climb to remain on the PGA Tour in 2027. The math was clear: he needed either to post several high finishes or win between now and the RSM Classic in mid-November. Otherwise, he would be headed back to the Korn Ferry Tour.
Given how he’d played all season, the chances of Shipley doing either appeared slim. But in golf, everything can change in a round or a week.
After three stellar rounds, including a sizzling Friday 62 at The Cliffs at Walnut Cove, Shipley will enter Sunday’s final round with a one-shot lead, just 18 holes away from his first career PGA Tour win — one that would vault him to 74th in the FedEx Cup standings and, more importantly, give him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour.
“It would be huge,” Shipley said on Saturday about potentially getting it over the line on Sunday. “It would take a lot of stress off my back, that’s for sure. It’s one of those things I’m playing really well, and I know it’s a matter of time for me, so I’m going to give it my best shot tomorrow and lay it all out there and see what happens.
“The [2026] season wasn’t really what we wanted,” Shipley said on Friday of his rookie season. “Been kind of clawing back to get my game back where it should be. I feel like a lot of that work is finally showing. It’s weird. Golf is one of those sports where you don’t get instant gratification. You got to work for a long time to see results. I feel like I’m seeing kind of the fruits of that labor, and really pumped about where we are right now. Had a lot of great experiences in my amateur career and throughout my professional career that have prepared me to be in this situation, so really excited for it.”
But Shipley won’t be the only player teeing it up on Sunday in Asheville trying to secure a career-changing win. There’s another dream week unfolding in North Carolina.
Playing alongside Shipley on Sunday will be 36-year-old Ben Kohles, who has gone 65-63-65 over the first three rounds at the Biltmore to stay within one shot of Shipley. Kohles has been hunting his first-career PGA Tour win for years. Two years ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, Kohles arrived at the 72nd hole, a par 5, with a one-shot lead. He made the only bogey of the day on that hole and handed the title to Taylor Pendrith. With the wound fresh, Kohles vowed to learn from a failure in the cauldron and use it as a road map to the winner’s circle.
“Did so many good things this week, and I’m just going to keep reminding myself of that and try to get myself back in this position,” Kohles said that day at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
His next moment arrived in July at the John Deere Classic, where he once again held the lead on the 72nd hole. But the story was the same in the Quad Cities as Kohles found the water with a poorly executed three-quarter punch shot on 18, and Chris Gotterup left with a title. But once again, Ben Kohles promised resolve.
“This was my third final group on Sunday on the PGA Tour,” Kohles said. “Honestly, this was the best I’ve felt out of the first two. I felt good in Dallas a couple of years ago, as well. Just going to keep building from that and use it to go forward.”
Kohles arrived this week in North Carolina just inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup standings at 96, and at No. 17 in the Korn Ferry Tour standings (the top 20 secure a PGA Tour card for 2027). The journeyman is fighting for his PGA Tour future on two separate tours, but can make it all moot by making sure his latest dream week doesn’t turn into another nightmare on Sunday in Asheville.
“It would mean a lot,” Kohles said on Saturday about potentially leaving Asheville victorious. “Like I said, we all want to win every week we tee it up and it’s really hard to do. I know if I stay committed to my process and commit to every shot, I’m going to be happy with the results no matter what they be.”
Shipley and Kohles will enter Sunday with some distance between themselves and the rest of the field. Shipley sits at 21 under, and Kohles is one shot back. Eric Cole and Ricky Castillo are the next closest competitors at 17 under, but with a soft setup yielding low scores, neither Kohles nor Shipley can afford to stumble if they want to finally reach a dream destination on Sunday and become a PGA Tour champion
“Just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” Shipley said of his approach to Sunday. “Keep being me and keep having fun out there. Keep that mindset of going out there, chasing birdies, and trying to get it as low as possible tomorrow.”
