Dunlap, Shipley advance to U.S. Amateur final match

Nick Dunlap and Neal Shipley posted semifinal wins on Saturday to secure spots in the 36-hole final of the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship on Sunday at Cherry Hills Country Club.

Dunlap defeated Parker Bell, 3 and 2. The No. 41 seed was down a hole early, but just as he did in his comeback win in the quarters, he owned the back nine, winning Nos. 9, 12 and 15 en route to the victory. Dunlap is now 29-2 in match play since 2021.

Dunlap’s run this week should come as no surprise, considering he’s competing in his eighth USGA championship and fourth U.S. Amateur. A member of the 2023 USA Walker Cup Team, Dunlap’s already played in two U.S. Opens.

He was an All-american as a freshman at Alabama, earning first-team ALL-SEC honors. He’s had a scorching summer leading into his performance at Cherry Hills, as he posted consecutive wins at the Northeast Amateur and North & South Amateur. Dunlap took down the world’s top-ranked amateur, Gordon Sargent, in the Round of 64 and beat local Connor Jones in the Round of 32. He cruised by Bowen Mauss (5 and 3) in the Round of 16, then he won over Jackson Koivun in 19 holes in the quarters.

Shipley edged John Marshall Butler, 2 and 1. The No. 47 seed dropped two of the first three holes, won Nos. 4 and 5 to pull even, then was three down entering the 11th. He won five of the last seven holes, including a tap-in birdie on No. 17 to seal it. Neal Shipley

Competing in his second U.S. Amateur, Shipley played three seasons at James Madison University before transferring to Ohio State for this past season. He’s been knocking on the door of a big tournament win this summer but hasn’t quite gotten there: He was runner-up in the Sunnehanna Amateur and the Trans-mississippi Amateur, where he lost in a playoff, and also tied for second in the Dogwood Invitational and tied for third in the Pacific Coast Amateur.

In addition to his comeback in the semifinals, Shipley gritted out close wins over Wenyi Ding in the Round of 64 (one up), Calum Scott in the Round of 32 (20 holes), Cooper Jones in the Round of 16 (3 and 2), and Andi Xu in the quarterfinals (2 and 1) by erasing an early deficit.