PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Neal Shipley is the third Korn Ferry Tour member to achieve #TOURBound status and secure PGA TOUR membership for the 2026 season, as announced Wednesday by the Korn Ferry Tour.

Shipley won the 2025 LECOM Suncoast Classic in April and the 2025 Ascendant presented by Blue in July, earning both victories by erasing final-round deficits of four strokes and seven strokes, respectively. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native has an active streak of five consecutive top-10 finishes – Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS (T5), The Ascendant presented by Blue (Won), Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods (T7), NV5 Invitational (T3), and last week’s Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse (T8) – which effectively secured one of the 20 PGA TOUR cards available through the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.

Shipley’s victory at The Ascendant presented by Blue also vaulted him into the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time. Entering the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, Shipley stands a career-high No. 85 in the OWGR.

Shipley is currently ranked No. 3 on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, only trailing fellow two-time winners Johnny Keefer and Austin Smotherman, both of whom earned #TOURBound declarations in July.

Should Shipley, Keefer or Smotherman earn a third victory prior to the conclusion of the 2025 season, they would secure an immediate promotion to the PGA TOUR via the Three-Victory Promotion.

Shipley will be considered a first-year member on the PGA TOUR in 2026 instead of a rookie, as he made eight starts during the 2024 PGA TOUR season after he turned professional last June. Shipley’s best finish in 12 career starts on TOUR was T6 as a sponsor exemption at the 2024 ISCO Championship.

Shipley began the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season with conditional status, which he earned through non-member FedExCup points in eight starts on the PGA TOUR in 2024.

Although Shipley missed the cut in the first two events of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, a top-10 at The Panama Championship (T9), the third of 26 scheduled events, left him well positioned in the Priority Ranking following the season’s first reshuffle. Shipley’s victory at the LECOM Suncoast Classic earned him fully exempt status for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Shipley composed his path to the PGA TOUR after three seasons at James Madison University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in quantitative finance, and two seasons at Ohio State University, where he earned a master’s degree in data analytics. Shipley finished No. 48 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, 23 spots below the final position which awarded performance benefits.

Shipley burst onto the global golf scene after he earned low amateur honors at both the 2024 Masters Tournament and 2024 U.S. Open, becoming the first player since Viktor Hovland (2019) to earn low amateur honors at both events in the same year. Shipley earned exemptions for both the Masters and U.S. Open via his runner-up finish at the 2023 U.S. Amateur Championship, won by two-time PGA TOUR winner Nick Dunlap.

Shipley, one of five players with a Tour-leading seven top 10s this season, trails Keefer by 418 points and Smotherman by 237 points on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List. A win at this week’s Albertsons Boise Open is worth 500 points, while a win in any of the four season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals events is worth 600 points.

While the top 20 players on the final 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn PGA TOUR membership for the 2026 season, the player who finishes No. 1 earns exemptions for THE PLAYERS Championship 2026 and 2026 U.S. Open.

The 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season continues this week with the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Chevron, the 22nd of 26 scheduled events and the last event prior to the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

The finalization of the points list and awarding of the 20 PGA TOUR cards will take place upon conclusion of the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, scheduled for Oct. 9-12 at French Lick Golf Resort in French Lick, Indiana.