2 years after finishing 2nd in U.S. Am at Cherry Hills, Neal Shipley rallies from 7 behind in final round to win The Ascendant at TPC Colorado & earns 2026 PGA Tour card; Westminster’s Connor Jones finishes 24th to land spot in next week’s Korn Ferry Tour event
By Gary Baines – 7/13/2025
BERTHOUD — Perhaps it’s only fitting that the state where Neal Shipley caught the fancy of golf fans locally and nationally while competing in the U.S. Amateur is the same one where he’s secured his PGA Tour card for the first time.
Shipley, the runner-up in the 2023 U.S. Amateur but unquestionably the fan favorite that week at Cherry Hills Country Club, de facto locked up a 2026 PGA Tour card on Sunday at TPC Colorado — and in dramatic, Arnold Palmer-like fashion.
Palmer, of course, added to his fame by rallying from seven strokes back heading into the final round of the 1960 U.S. Open to win that week at Cherry Hills. And on Sunday, Shipley did something similar — albeit on a considerably smaller stage.
The 24-year-old likewise rallied from seven behind going into the last round, and his 8-under-par 64 Sunday at TPC Colorado — despite a double bogey — landed him the title at The Ascendant presented by Blue.
Asked what he thought his chances were to win — going into the day — given his seven-stroke deficit, Shipley said, “Oh, I thought I had absolutely no chance if I’m being honest. Yeah, I figured Ross (Steelman, the 54-hole leader) has been playing great. I didn’t expect him to back up like that, so that was a big surprise to me.”
Shipley had plenty of reasons to smile on Sunday.
During Sunday’s trophy ceremony, Shipley was quick to point out what Colorado has meant to him, given his success in the state.
“It was awesome to be back here in Colorado, where I had a lot of success in the Amateur,” he said. “It was awesome seeing a lot of the fans and volunteers that were out at Cherry Hills. With that and this win, Colorado and Denver and the area really has a special place in my heart.”
Indeed, Shipley actually played a round at Cherry Hills earlier this month, reliving some moments from 2023.
“It’s such a cool golf course, a special place, and definitely has a special place in my heart,” said the golfer who was born in Pittsburgh and finished up his college career at Ohio State. “I mean, that’s where all this started.”
Sunday marked Shipley’s second Korn Ferry Tour victory of the year and vaults him into fourth place on the season-long point standings. The top 20 in the standings at the end of the year earn 2026 PGA Tour cards, and given that No. 20 last year accumulated 1,019 points, Shipley has a promotion coming his way with the 1,307 he’s racked up.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s nice kind of coming into this six-week stretch, I knew with 300, 400 more points (in the standings) I’d have a good chance, and to do it all in one chunk is awesome.”
As was the case during the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills, Shipley was a fan favorite at TPC Colorado.
Also fittingly, Shipley capped off Sunday’s comeback with an 18-foot birdie on No. 18 — and punctuated it a big-time fist pump (no Arnie visor toss, but this analogy only goes so far). “It was awesome to see that one go in,” Shipley said. “… That putt was huge. It was great to dodge those two guys coming in the clubhouse and not have to deal with a playoff.”
Jorge Fernandez Valdes couldn’t believe he left what would have been a playoff-forcing birdie putt just short on the 18th hole on Sunday.
Indeed, that birdie ended up being crucial as Shipley won by one over Jorge Fernandez Valdes and Kevin Dougherty.
Valdes could have forced a playoff, but his 12-foot birdie try on 18 ended up just short — on the front lip of the cup, in fact. Later, Dougherty had a 30-foot birdie try from over the green but on fringe-like grass. However, it fell left of the hole and he too made par. That secured the victory — worth $180,000 — for Shipley, who had finished almost an hour earlier.
Kevin Dougherty also fell just short of a victory on Sunday.
Shipley drew some of the biggest galleries of the week at TPC Colorado — no doubt because of the fame he’s gained as low amateur at both the 2024 Masters and the 2024 U.S. Open. Spots in both those tournaments were earned by virtue of his top-2 showing at Cherry Hills in the U.S. Am a year before.
On Sunday, Shipley didn’t disappoint in the final round. He played his first six holes in 6 under par — thanks to a chip-in eagle from 20 yards at No. 6. Shipley — and went out in 7-under-par 29. He added a birdie at No. 10, making him 8 under par for his first 10 holes.
“That doesn’t happen a lot,” he said. “For sure, I think that would qualify as a hot start.”
After starting the day seven out of the lead, Shipley was two ahead after he completed just 10 holes on Sunday. But a double bogey on the 757-yard, par-5 13th dropped him into a tie, and Dougherty went ahead by one when he birdied No. 12.
But Shipley got back on track with an 20-foot birdie on 14 after a 3-iron off the tee on the long par-3. And then the birdie on 18 put him on top for good. Shipley finished at 18 under par — four off the record total for The Ascendant.
With Valdes (68 on Sunday) and Dougherty (69) tying for second place, a couple of notable names were among those who shared fourth place: Austin Smotherman (No. 1 on the season-long points list) and Pierceson Coody (No. 6). Smotherman has locked up his 2026 PGA Tour card and Coody is likely very close to doing so — if he hasn’t already. Also tying for fourth was Steelman, who held a three-stroke lead going into the day but shot 75 on Sunday after playing his first eight holes in 4 over par.
Shipley shared a moment on Sunday with Miles Bowling — the Blue champion of the day — and his dog Ravioli.
Shipley’s seven-shot final-round comeback for the win was the largest on the Korn Ferry Tour since the Astara Chile Classic in March 2024 (also seven strokes).
Meanwhile, for the record, in Shipley’s previous Korn Ferry Tour victory this year, he overcame a four-stroke deficit heading into the final round.
Connor Jones hits his tee shot on the par-3 second hole on Sunday.
Top 25 and Another KFT Start for Coloradan Connor Jones: By just about any standards, Connor Jones’ debut on the Korn Ferry Tour was a success. The Westminster resident, playing in front of a few dozen family, friends and fans in his home state, posted a top-25 finish (24th, place to be exact) after Monday qualifying for the event, which featured a formidable field.
In addition, with that top-25 showing, the former Colorado State University golfer earned a spot in next week’s KFT tournament, the Price Cutter Charity Championship in Springfield, Mo. He committed to play in that event on Sunday.
Still, Jones, ever the competitor, was looking for more. He estimated he missed 10 putts on Sunday in the single-digit range in terms of feet.
Jones’ putter wasn’t cooperating in the final round.
So his evaluation of his performance this week?
“I’m pretty disappointed honestly,” he said. “I was just putting terrible today.
“It’s more so that I wanted to play good for me and see where that put me, and I didn’t feel like I played well today. I was hitting it OK; I was kind of scrambling.”
But Jones did enjoy competing in his home state with a fair number of supporters following him every step of the way.
“It was a lot of fun playing in front of everybody and being close to home,” the 23-year-old former CGA Player of the Year said. “I felt super comfortable. I just wish I would have played a little better.”
The 2024 Elite Amateur Series champion earned $8,226 for his showing at TPC Colorado.
Jones, who chalked up a couple of mini-tour wins in Florida over the winter, plans to go to Q-school in the fall, hoping to secure status on a PGA Tour-affiliated circuit.
Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney couldn’t regain the form he showed in the first two days in earning the 36-hole co-lead.
Meanwhile, former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney, who shared the 36-hole lead at The Ascendant after going 67-67, struggled on the weekend and finished 37th. He shot 74 on Saturday and 73 on Sunday to end up at 7 under par.
“I never caught the same momentum I had on the first two days,” Whitney said. “The body felt a little disconnected from the brain. I didn’t make many big misses but didn’t take advantage of the birdie holes like I did the first two days and had a handful of sloppy bogeys.”
It was a missed opportunity for Whitney, who could have jumped into the top 20 in the season-long points standings with a victory. But the way things played out, he moved up just three spots, to No. 73.
“You can look at the points I was going to earn after Friday and what I ended up earning after Sunday,” Whitney noted. “It hurts, but golf is hard. You’ve got to play good for four days. There are a lot of positives from the week, and I look forward to going on to the next (tournament) and trying to get back in that leader group.”
Former Colorado Christian University golfer — and newly minted pro — Sanga Park finished 61st on Sunday after Monday qualifying to get into The Ascendant field. He closed with a 1-over-par 73 — with three birdies and four bogeys on Sunday — to end up at 1 under par for the week, earning $4,060,
Here are the final scores for players with significant Colorado and area ties who competed in The Ascendant:
24th place (-9). Connor Jones of Westminster 72-67-69-71—279
37th (-7). Former Air Force Academy golfer Tom Whitney 67-67-74-73–281
61st (-1). Former Colorado Christian University golfer Sangha Park 73-69-72-73–287
Missed 36-Hole Cut
(-1). Zahkai Brown of Golden 71-72–143
(Even). Former Littleton resident Chris Korte 73-71—144
(+1). Cheyenne native Josh Creel 70-75—145
(+2). Former Air Force Academy golfer Kyle Westmoreland 74-72–146
(+4). Amateur Brayden Forte of Aurora 77-71—148
For all the scores from The Ascendant, CLICK HERE.
Notable: The average single-round score for the 2025 Ascendant was 71.38, which is slightly under par. Over four rounds, there were 61 eagles made and 1,704 birdies. … About 450 volunteers helped out at this week’s tournament.
There’s a reason why they’re called the Heron Lakes.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com