Neal Shipley gets off to hot start in PGA Tour debut at Rocket Mortgage Classic

DETROIT, Mi. (KDKA) -- Neal Shipley's debut on the PGA Tour got off to a good start yesterday, finishing his opening round in the top ten of the field of more than 150 players.

The Mt. Lebanon native and Central Catholic graduate heads into his second round of the tournament sitting in a good spot, tied for 9th place on the leaderboard with a score of -5 under par.

He sits just three strokes off the lead.

Shipley's first nine holes weren't his best, but an eagle on the 10th hole kicked off his back nine and he made five straight birdies down the homestretch of his round.

His second round will get underway this morning at 8:35 a.m. and if Shipley is able to make the cut, he'll earn a paycheck.

As it stands sitting in 9th place, Shipley's payday would be in excess of $269,000.

Finishing anywhere above 22nd place would earn more than $100,000 and the winner of this week's tournament will earn a whopping $1.66 million.

If he does make the cut, you can catch his play during the final two rounds of the tournament on KDKA-TV, with coverage on Saturday and Sunday airing from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Shipley's rise to stardom

Neal Shipley became a fan favorite as an amateur during this year's Masters tournament and U.S. Open , where he won low amateur honors in both tournaments.

Earlier this week, Shipley was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game amid his sudden rise to fame.

In the wake of his low amateur performance at the U.S. Open earlier this month, Shipley turned professional and finished inside the top ten in his PGA Tour Americas debut in Victoria, British Columbia.

Shipley has already earned a sponsor's exemption for next week's tournament and will be in the field for the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

Just yesterday, Primanti Bros. announced they had made a one-of-a-kind sand wedge for Shipley that features their iconic logo and signature fries on the back of the club head.