Part 2: Laird Shepherd, The 2021 Amateur Champion

up on the radar. They happened to be absolutely honest, done a whole lot, but they gave us just one of the great finals, thirty six sols, thirty eight hols of of stunning drama. Another log on the fire here give the time. Welcome to the fire pit with Matt Janella. So we're back to the start and the ex playing of the Amateur Championship at Nairn Golf Club on a

northern coast of Scotland. In part one you get the backstory as to why this is such a special story at least one aspect of why it's special, which has a little to do with the fact that Laird Shepherd, a twenty three year old amateur who got a scholarship to play at the University of Sterling in St Andrew's nearly quit the game in January of this year after several seasons of back pain and knee surgeries. He got a timely tip from a childhood friend, which ultimately led

to a life and legacy changing moment in time. And we're getting to all that right after. We thank Link Soul for their support. This is Jeff Cunningham, the co creator on the essence of the lifestyle brand. I wear everywhere every day. We're all here because this thing wants to grow and wants to be something, and it goes well beyond clothes. It goes into the goat. It goes into everything about the game and just in life in general.

But you know I was I was an artist an artist, and John was engulfed and and uh Amber family and and those three things are what makes this company go. Go to Links sold dot com. Use promo code fire Pit discount on your next purchase. Before we get started on what some simply referred to as the Amateur Championship, I should tell you something about Narron Golf Club, the

venue for this story. The Scottish Links was founded in seven and has members at Nairn Gorse is a hazard and according to their website, the Great James brad once said, the texture of the turf and the character of the greens is unrivaled. One of the characters in today's story is George Harper Jr. Hey George Matchan Nola hey Man, how are you? An announcer for the RNA, who was

covering his third Amateur Championship. We visited about three weeks praw to the Amateur and wait got some behind the scenes interviews and we chatted to one of the historians there who took us behind the scenes and they've got this really cool archive room and it was amazing to see his emotion alone when he was telling the story

about where the club came from. You know, it was always a golfing community, um, if you were from there and you played golf, And it was obviously the history of Tom Morris, who who recently turned two hundred approximately, and the fact that he had a little part to do with it was so cool. And and then back in the day it was a mass of Fisherman's town

as well. So they've got the boffy and the ice house down the end of the course, which is like now turned into it at the ninth where you can get your snacks, your drinks and have a little break and it's it's just got all that amazing history. And I played near and once a long time ago. I don't remember a lot of detail other than the only holes on the water are the first seven and they

all go out in the same direction. Yes, So they hosted it back in the in the nineties is they had a good amateur there, but they've also got the Walker Cup behind them and the Curtis Cups, so they had so many big names come there and they make sure they all sign the book on arrival. So on the first tea at the amateur Gordon was there the starter and making sure everyone signed to sign the big book.

And looking back, you know you've got all those cool names from from the Walker Cup sides and the US sides as well, so there's no Shortager Club history and and they are really really proud of the tournaments that have been there in the past. So this was their second time hosting the championship, uh and it will no

doubt go down in history. And we were just so happy to be able to open it up to fans because literally only the week before we've finally got the a OK to allow members to come and then from there it went from I think four odd members to a thousand members and fans. So it was just really helped help lift the morale and the energy at then golf club. So we're very lucky to be able to get everyone and there to watch what was an amazing final. Well we had them. I asked Harper to give us

the details of the format. Yes, So the Amateur Championship is I like to call it a marathon. It's a it's a true test of golfing fitness. It's it's something that I certainly couldn't do even if I had the down and it's a long long road. So traditionally it starts with two hundred and forty four two I think, and it's like two different They used two different courses and where you get one round one round of stroke

play at each course, so you swap over. So there's without COVID, there's normally a huge field, but with with COVID and not much not much travel, the field was was tightened, but it was still a really really strong and impressive field which were which everyone was really happy with and then so you do two rounds of stroke play and then from there your top sixty four players advanced to the match play rounds. So if there's ties,

it's all on cout back um. But normally with the bigger field did be an extra round to get your sixty four and ties into. But your top sixty four and tires go through. And then next when you get seeded into your the top of the table, so your top qualified plays the person and sixty four and then let's how you get your seeds and you go into match play knockout. From there we were into a lot of win the day we played, which is exactly how

they had it for the first round of stroke play. Again, our main character, Laird Shepherd, was coming into the amateur just happy to be playing pain free, and as the thirtieth alternate, he was also just grateful to be in the field, after all, he had card in hand. I

was not not a bad seventy seven I am. It was burned out forty five min and I tied off in the afternoon and then lay literally lay on the first lay for half an hour waiting for the group in front because the ball was basically blowing off the green, and I was thinking, but we're going to walk in here because you know they're not gonna not gonna fished the round because it was only supposed to get stronger, And so we waiting for half an hour. Then suddenly

they just get playing. So I got up and played, and I came in after that round of golf and said to my my friends, I was like, I played really well when I shot sixth set over there. So after day one, Shephard was somewhere in the middle of the pack. You went to play the second second round, it was much much calmer and probably left about five or six shots out where, but did did enough. That's all you have to do. After a seventy one under,

he was in as the fifty four seed. He had been here before and had lost in the first round of match play. The mindset for match player is huge, ships so different. I think that's the toughest thing is is um to get through those first few matches because you've got to have you got a snap from stroke playing too. Match playing you gotta have a different mindset, and I think I was able to learn from my previous failures to win my first round match to really go.

You've got you know, you've got to put your foot on people's next and get get the job done as quickly as possible. So um, but that sort of was what my mindset was. Yeah. First round, Shepherd played Aaron Snare Julie Son if Shephard was ranked six in the World Amateur Golf rankings. Julia Son of Iceland was ranked two third. He he actually he was. He was a good player, um, you know, really solid player. He shot six d of the day before, so you know, you

know this guy can play. Um. Usually people don't don't link up to six unders in the road. But you know, I knew I was in for a match as soon as we teed off. You know, hit this perfect you know, rifle stinger driver and I'm like, okay, this guy's got some game. Um, and got off to a fly and it won the first two holes and it was in any control all the way early. But my ashes, I think eagle hold to go free up with three to

play and then down down down that next hole. And you know I played played really well and they gave me a lot of confidence. Now my confidence grew was leap went on. Um. But it's always good to get off to a good start and not burn too much energy, because the further you go, the nearer you get to eighteen, the more of that sort of mental energy you're you're burning, and you want to try and save that up for

when you need it. So Shepherd had made the trip with Andrew Davidson, a good friend and his former teammate at Sterling University. Your first impressions of Laird Shepherd classic English guy, I would put them down as that the

bracket was set up to be a buddy buster. Chloe Godby, Laird's girlfriend and recent winner of the Women's Scottish Amateur explains, I knew when the match played draw came out that if m of himself and Andrew both won their first round match, they would have met each other, which already you're thinking, oh, that's unfortunate because you really don't want

them to meet. I'm great friends with Andrew as well, so um, we saw that would happen, and obviously unfortunately Andrew lost his first round match, but it was great that he could then, I mean for him to offer to stay in Caddy for Laard. I'm not sure he knew quite how long he was getting in getting in for but he um, yeah, that was so so nice of him to offer to stay stay up there and Caddy and um, I think it was nicer for me knowing that they had Andrew there on the bag meet

Andrew Davidson, winner of the Welsh Opening. We were staying with each other, so the night before we knew that if we both wanted, we'd play each other, which was actually weird because we played the British Amateur last year and if the same thing happened, we would have played each other again, I think the last year. But we

both got beat last year in the first round. Okay, so I ended up getting beat on the in the first round, so and I was still we had the place for the next night, so I was like, wow, I'll just stay up tomorrow and if you want to make Cardie then I'll Cardy tomorrow and see, just see what happens, not really thinking anything all but at the time just I was like, well, I'm gonna be here, so I might as well. I would usually come home, and the anger actually so quite surprised I've stayed Andrew

Nie of Scotland is ranked in the world. Andrew McCardy said, you know when we turn up tomorrow. In the first two year, this guy's can be thinking, wait a minute, I got ready yesterday I said that to Lardy back, what's going on here? I got rid of him yesterday. He's back again. But I knew, well, I don't know what if you're going to commute the sense, but I just knew that Lard was probably going to beat the

guy because the guy played well against me. But I just had a feeling that Lard would would be beating him. So I was like, well, if he gets to hand, then there's another guy dispatched. Let's see what happens in the next It was good, and you know, I know that Andrew need had played well to be be my my friend day before, so you know, you know, I knew what was what was coming, and just yeah, find ful to got that that jopped on again relatively stress free.

So Shepherd beat me two and one, which, for those of you don't understand match play scoring, that basically means Shepherd was up two holes. There was only one hole to play game over, which brings us to the round of sixteen. His opponent was Aaron Edwards Hill in the World Amateur rankings. Edwards Hill has three wins in the last two years. I knew he plays for He's in an England golf squad, so he's a national squad, so

he's a good player. Um I hadn't know. It's a guy that I've seen his name around behind I haven't met before. But yeah, great player, um I I probably, but that was probably the best match I played all week. I did not miss a shot. I mean, I was saying to my Caddy it was like it was like

playing a computer game, you know. I would say, I'm going to hit this shot on this target and I'm gonna bend it five yards this projection, and I do and uh yeah, I just played really solid and really ever give Aaron a chance to get back in the match, so ends up winning on and just like Teter Green, it was just like an absolute strike show. The guy he was playing must have felt like a little kid. Shephard beats Edwards Hill four and three and now they

need to scramble to find another place to stay. Shepherd and Davidson stayed in four different places that week. On Thursday night, they stayed with Dean Robertson, their coach from Sterling, who had been in town for the first few days of the amateur Robertson not only knew Shepherd's game, he knows the game winner of Italian Open. He has brought

sterling to another level of excellence. His pet talk space key include telling you how good you are, and that usually works coming from someone who knows what we're talking about. And I knew when he was watching me play he was thinking, this is what I remember this guy being like, you know, I did just play so well that that match on Thursday afternoon, and that filmed me a lot

of confidence. It's quite nice to sort of take a trip down memory lane and tend like I'm still at university and helped me out with the place to stay and some some very wise words and how I was going to go and best tackle the next few days. Meanwhile, Chloe was in St. Andrew's trying to figure out when she makes the trip up north on the Thursday evening. I think it must have been or or early on the Friday morning, and he was like, you know, I don't want you to come up and not see a

lot of golf. If you only get up there, you know, halfway through the morning match, and if I lose them you might only see light nine holes of gold for whatever. And I was like, obviously I want to be there if he's in the Sammy's And it was kind of a difficult one because it's like a three hour drives from here here in St. Andrew's. So so he said, I'd just leave it until tomorrow if I make the final, come and come and watch. And I thought, okay, he

said that, so I'll just leave him to it. She left him to Sam Barstow, another Englishman who won twice since and has ranked a hundred and in the World of Amateurs. Okay, I mean, Sam Um is a really nice guy. I think the match play it's it's usually it's usually helpful if you're playing someone that isn't nice guy, because just so fire you up a little bit or you know, I don't know, it's there's less sort of there's less emotion there. You just want to beat them badly.

But also I wanted to beat Sammie. He's nice guy, great player, you know. He actually he yesterday I think it was qualified for the open through final squalify and he shot nine under five under or something. You know.

It's a great player. So yeah, I mean I was straight down early in that match and was maybe looking at going four down through six and that that would have been a tough battle, but ended up coming coming back and being all square after I think it was ten of eleven holes and it was very tight from now and in and then just managed to make you squeezed the last hole with a with a par and get through. And you know, the more stuff that happened like that that week, the more I thought that maybe

this is sort of like meant to be. So I was thinking, really, I was like, oh, it looks like the games back now. I didn't really shame the head to him, but I was thinking in my head, I was like, if he keeps playing like that, then there's no reason as to why this can happen. Like I was thinking that, Like I'm not just saying that, Like I was thinking, you've got a great chance with the way you're setting that. And by that time, you know

you are fatiguing as well. You've played a lot of golf, and um, you know it's it's something you always talk about, but obviously only people that get that far really know what it's like to have got seven eight rounds already done that week, and you're still battling and every match is more important and every match it's got more so wait to it, so um, just to slip through on a team, there was this huge Yeah. Shepherd was starting to believe again, not just in his play, but in

the idea that he could win. I think just the way I was playing was the most fulfilling a bit, because I was playing under a bit of pressure and I was playing well, and I was proven to myself that you know, these skills haven't left me. I've still got the ability to do what I need to do. And every time I cool my my parents after one and talking about about, you know, the match, I'd say, you know, they begin happy because they know how much

I've been through. My mom's getting sort of emotional, and you know, I'm like, I've still got a match to play this afternoon, so we can't get too excited. We just gotta go and play that match. And I think that that helped me sort of keep feet on the ground, and you know, it was it was a blessing. So so, Shepherd has played practice rounds two stroke play qualifiers. He has won four matches and he's down to the semifinal match on Friday afternoon. The man between Shepherd and the

final is Jack Dyer. I mean Jackie. Obviously he played Walker up in May. You know, I think he wanted singles match as well, so don't hold me to that, but I think you did a great player. Um you know Racil player he played in in the events and George's I've played last Yearny won by six seven shops, so um, you know, I knew this guy was serious. So you know it was fun to go and play against someone who's obviously playing very well. And he I think he was second qualifier as well, so he was

he was creatly playing great. Dire of England did in fact win a singles match at the Walker Cup at Seminole earlier this year. He beat Tyler Strafacci, who won the U S Amateur Abandoned Dunes and the North and South at Pinehurst. Needless to say, Dire was a favorite and it was again a tight match for um. I saw catched up down eighteen and and did something that I've probably never really done before. Um And and for me, I was proved to myself that I was I was clutched.

I had to know how you put that into better terminology, but proven to myself that you know when I when you need to just to stand up there and had a great golf shot, but I could accept the repercussions. Have just sort of putting on the line. And yeah, Layers played well that round. Heat again, he could have

he could have easily won. I don't know, four and three, five and four, But I think that's just the pressure of the situation got to him a wee bit, and he was making some silly mistakes and got they were all scared going down eyteen again. And there's a bit of a story here. A jacket hit two on tea um because says Bankers this perfectly driver distance. So he did too, and I knew that he had to then lay up from where he was, so he then laid up.

I'd hit driver, and I perhapsly tried to hit it left of the left bunkers, so basically into the into the rough. I mean, it wasn't that thick. It was. It was sort of you know, you could catch a decent line and gamble on that, and fortunately did get decently so and Jack layed up in two and layered. We had like two seven seven he head. I think he lays at it and it was like two twenty over a bunker into the wind out of rough. My carrier was still telling me to lay up. He didn't

like he didn't like three without the rof. But it was sitting okay, and I just I just saw a shot that I knew I could pull off and and I was like, Oh, do you want to just lay up here short of a bunker and take your chance with the wedge And he's like no, He's like no, I'm just gonna go for it. I've just got to stand up, he said. I just got to stand up and just had a good shot. You've got to take

this chance spendence here. And I was like, well, fair enough, and I was like right, just make sure you had a good one. I couldn't even watch the shot because I was kind of like, I'm going to be so annoyed if he if he makes a mess of this. Now it's like if he just gets the whole because the way it was a line in the off, like it wasn't a given. There was just going to come out like the way it did. And it was probably shot at the tournament. I would say, I mean that

asked the best golf shot. I've ever hit under that that sort of pressure. That was pretty cool. And I was sort of walking after it and my cardy was having the girl at me because he's like, you need to calm down, so you need to come back to the bag and take a sip of water. And he didn't let me take my partner out until we got to the green. Oh yeah, he was like running down the ferry. I was like, where are you going. It's like, where are you off to hear he's like giving the party.

I'm like, no, just take your water and just calm down. Because I don't know if he told you, but he was extremely, extremely nervous and all the way around. I was like, just you just need to calm and just take breaths, like deep breaths like he was. He was struggling to to like he was. I thought he was going to be sick with nerves. And I think after they heard that, it was almost like the pinnacle of the nerves just exploded and it was like, oh my god.

He was like spreading and down interfering. It was like at least I was like get back here. It's like calm down. Yeah, So that's quite funny that was. That was very fulfilling and that almost was enough for me that week. Hitting that three word onto the last screen and winning the last hole. Um, that was, Yeah, that

was sort of enough for me. Like if I lost the final, at least i'd I've done sounding pretty cool because that was an amazing shot and when I needed to and proved to myself that, hey, you know, um, something that you worried about is not not thinking that maybe you had in you to do it when you needed to. And I certainly sort of proved that to myself on on that golf shot. So that was pretty cool.

So now he's in the final match and his opponent Money Scousel, who's also English, is someone who he's very familiar with. It was. It was difficult mainly because I knew I knew Monty. You know, he is a friend of mine, and I don't just say that because we

ended up playing each other. He you know, we shared a hotel room in Bahrain, but we went and played a golf tournament there and the end of two thousand nineteen, and we played a lot of university golf together because he went to Exeter and um, so we ended up playing a lot of tourmance together and money Scousle of Suffolk, as Laird said, attended University of Exeter, where he was the captain of his team. Hello Monty, Hi, Matt, Matt Janella here, how are you good? Thank you? How are

you pleasure meeting you? Thank you so much for taking some time and sharing your side of a story here. Yeah, no worries. Thank thanks for having me on. He's about a year older than Laird, came in ranked even higher than Shepherd, and has had his own set of health challenges and circumstances that have provided perspective for such a

young life. What I was about five years old, I had a nasty illness called Sidion's career, which was a bacterial infection that attacked my brain um and actually lost control the left side of my body for quite a while.

They couldn't really work out what it was the doctors here in the UK, and they thought it might have been a stroke or maybe a brain hemorrhage or something along those lines, which was pretty scary for my parents at the time, obviously, And it wasn't till an Indian doctor came along and um and identified what it was, which was Sydnon's career as they have a lot of cases over in India, but it's not very common here in UK or or you know, in more developed countries.

So um that that that basically meant I had to be on penicillin for about until I was eighteen. Actually, um is it's a childhood illness. Um. So you know, even to this day if I'm ill, I tend to have quite a sort of shaky or sore left side of the body. Um. But fortunately it hasn't hasn't affected any of my sort of I guess sort of sequencing or you know, neurological pathways to my body. So I spoke to Jeremy scoutle Monte's father, who's a lawyer in England.

You know, he turned out to be fine. His heart was fine, but clearly as you can imagine as a as a father yourself, how how distressing it was at the time, but he was amazing as a as a as a patient actually matter at the time he was

he was we could have been proud of her. Then you know, all sorts of medical things that had to be done to him, and I used to cringe and sort of you know, needing to turn away sometimes, but he was just he just went through it all with you know, his smiling sort of in a smiling way and said, I'll be all right there and I'll be all right mom. Like Shepherd Money, Scousel is an ambitious self starter with the determined work ethic. It's absolutely him and I never have to tell him to do anything.

He's he goes to the range. We're fortunate enough we haven't swing studio up in our in our roof at home here, um, and he's up there pretty much every day. He's in the gym pretty much every day. And he's out on the golf course. Um. You know, during during the lockdown with the COVID and what I have You was on, he was having lessons by video with his coach. Um. I've never I've never actually had to push him do anything.

It's it's it's very much in him. You know. He just wants to do it and he wants to get better. It's funny one because my dad, you know, he still works full time and he tries to take off a couple of weeks to come and support me at big championships like like the Amateur or you know the English Amateur or those sorts of tournaments. Um. And he's candied

for me before, but quite unsuccessfully at times. We haven't necessarily seen idam eye out there various occasions where things have happened, you know, he's passing me the putter head cover rather than the actual putter and all sorts of stuff like that. You know what I said to him about three weeks ago, I said, I will carry for you at the bridge am uh, and I will um get rid of all distractions. Are literally left work and

said I'm not contacting anybody. And so for the whole week I was actually there and I think that's what he needed, and that's what that I think, with the distractions taken out of my life and enabled them to really concentrate on being a good caddy for him. And he was. He was brilliant out there. You know, it was um. It was great having his support, especially in the early rounds where the guys are playing didn't have a caddy or they necessarily because of COVID restrictions, they

didn't have anyone watching. UM, So having that presence of him there I think actually really helped. And and he was great at you know, talking through different shots and um, and ultimately match played. It's all about just keeping the pressure on your opponent, and with him there, I felt that I was able to do that, you know pretty well. I asked Monty for some memories of Laird Shepherd. So the first time I met lad he was at Stirling University.

I was Exeter. We had a knockout match, so it was match place six of their best against six of ours. And at the time they had a very you know, they were they were by far the best team in in the UK. Um they had a number of players on their team who who have not since played Walker Cup and there on the challenge in European tour Um And actually I got drawn against lad Um to to play against him, and he was I was in my second year at the time at Exetern he was in

his first year and I knew nothing about him. But all I know is that he was brilliant golf. I think he was six up with six to play and I think I lost two in one of the end. But it was he was very, very talented. I could tell he was a good player but also a really nice guy. And that was actually the first time I met him, so that must have been twenty fifteen. I guess so about six years ago. Worth noting Laird once had a six whole lead over Monty and almost lasted.

He really did dominate university golf over here for quite a basically his all four years that he was at sterling Um. And I was just you know, you know, looked up to him and thought, okay, what does he do well? Um and uh, and kind of learned from him. Actually he could. He was he was such a good player, and to play with him it was great to watch. So he was someone I really looked up to. Actually, Monty also reflected on their time together in Bahrain. It

was just funny just going back there. We we he may have told you, but we we shared a hotel room in Bahrain for a tournament at the end of and I remember he was, you know, we we spoke about his injuries, and you know, we chapped a lot, and he'd be up in the morning just with the massage gun, just an hour hour in the morning before he played, just drilling the side of his hip and his knee, and I was like, man, this guy he's dedicated to, you know, get back on and make get

through these injuries. So now these two guys are on the beaches of doing media on the eve of the Amateur Championship Finals back in back when we was showing that hotel room, would you ever thought this was going to happen? And you know, obviously none of us really expect what was happening, and um, just surreal. It was surreal.

So that was it was that made it more difficult because you allow yourself to sort of share the emotion of being surprised where there was suddenly didn't know as well, you try and play it a bit more cool, but we we both know how each other were feeling, so so to be in that position. We sat on the beach with the R and A doing some media for us, and we just looked at each other and thought, this is just crazy. I could tell in his face and mind.

We were just we couldn't get over it. Um And it was yeah, it was almost a sense of wow, we've we've achieved something great this week. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, We've both done incredible thing this week. And there was this sort of overriding sense of kind of pride that we got there, you know, and all the hard work to get to that position was had paid off? I guess. So both have talent, determination and a work ethic and they're both undefeated. So is the naring beaches

cleared of the editors, cameras and questions? Do? He Donnally, he's Scottish broadcaster who called the live stream for the RNA, reflects on the night before the final. We know the

good players, of course they have. I think for me it was how are they going to cope with us because they have not been at this this level before and there's so much at stake, not just to win this wonderful trophy which Bobby Jones one for goodness sake, in any number of some of the greats of the game who went under great professional careers both in the States and and in Europe. So it was a sense of they could win this wonderful trophy, put their name up.

There was saon as you're going to see and JSI, Maria Arthabal and all of the others, and then get to play in the Open Championship, get to play in the US Open, and get to play in the Masters. I mean for our twenty three year old kids, you know who's just making his way in the game. I don't know how you sleep at night. I mean, it's everybody says, you've got to put that out of your mind and just play the shot. Hey, easy to say,

isn't it. Checking in with Team Mighty Scows after the semi final, actually we didn't have anywhere to stay, so we had to go and find somebody go and stay. But when we found that, uh that we largely went there and had a takeaway piece and we went to bed. Um. But I think none of us slept particularly well. I think I think the nerves would begin to to kick in at that stage, or you know what the next day was going to to produce. And I'm sure Led

went through exactly saying I know he did. I don't think he slept very well, and Monty didn't sleep very well, but I think that's probably quite normal. I got to sleep pretty early around ten o'clock and woke up or must have been about one o'clock in the morning, and I was just heart was beating out of the chest, and I was really really nervous for the next morning because it was a moment in my career. I didn't

quite expect to get to this quickly. Um. But it was also one that you know, I hope, I hope I get too quickly. But when you actually find yourself in that position, you're not prepared for it. You never never prepared for it. So I was so nervous. I actually I went to my went to my bag about one o'clock in the morning, flicked on the light, started chipping around around my bedroom just to make sure I could still chip. You know. It was just it was

bizarre and I couldn't believe it. As for Team Laird, Shepherd family and friends were mobilizing, most notably his father Stewart Shepherd. So I booked a flight and Friday comes and he wins in the morning, said right, we've got to leave for the airport, the Looting airport, because I can't wait to find out with the winds or not, because I missed the flight. So he set up on

the car leaving. We thought plenty of time to get to Luton airport, watching the schools on the phone, actually getting inside information from Andy the caddy via Laird's girlfriend. So and then the good news came through whatever time it was that he's won. So we had just made the flight and got up there for the final and his Dad came up and then we just we went for a drink or two of Dad. But Laird was

like just in a different planet. It was he can keep still like he was just you could just tell that everything was going through his head at that point, just like what could happen tomorrow? Yeah. I arrived at the bed and Breakfast, which I booked for us all, and they were watching the England Scotland soccer game. It's halftime, and I basically said, I need a drink. The stress of today and traveling I need and and again, yeah, come on, let let's just go down the pub. It's

just just down their own, which we did. They they had already eaten um, and they had had two points of water and and and I had two points of beer um. So I thought Lair was okay um with with him. There's a lot, always a lot going on under the water, you know. I was trying my best that night to to get some sleep and not think about,

you know, all the things that might come. And I've done a lot of meditation and out of the year to try and deal with some sort of anxiety and stuff with my injuries, and I think that that's sort of help maybe in that way, because you've got to realize that these thoughts going through your head, you can't stop them. There's no way of stopping them getting in there. But you just don't want to put weight on them. And but I haven't said that. I probably slept for

about two hours. I was. I was very, very nervous. In the morning, I woke up and we'll welcome back to in the morning, you can get back to sleep. That morning, he got up early as well and he headed to the course. I didn't even know he was away, and I was like, what is he doing. It's like, why is he awaiting the course already? I was like, you must be because it was fairly early tea time. There's no way you should have been. Of course he was the course like probably close to three hours before

the tea time. Nice, Like, that's just silly. If we could have teed off straight from after the semifinals, that would have been great. But UM woke up the morning and and went to the golf course really early because I just couldn't speak to anyone. I just was like, I need to just go and hit some balls and maybe that'll make me feel better sort of thing. Chloe had made the trip early that morning. She was joined by her mom and her sister. The alarm was definitely

for something. UM left and went straight up the road and got there before before I teed off in the morning. So arrived in the car park and I could spot spotted him on the range warming out things and shots. So I went and said holo to him on the parting green before he heard it out and stood there behind the first tea not being able to breathe. I think, well, while we hit that first t shot, welcome to the golf club. But I've been trying to six average of

Trampion final between Montesco and we're I'm sure I was struck. Um. Yeah, on the first tea there was a Behind the first tea there was a guy. He turned to the guy who was with and and said all that I've been watching this lad Shepherd. He's a real street fighter. I thought that was a pretty presdent thing to say in the circumstances needed to be. I asked Mr Scows for the mindset going into the final. In essence, I said, look, there's just you and me out here. We're going to

play good golf, and if we play good golf. We've got to you know, we've got a chance of being lead. Um, And that's that was the mentality we went in there with. There wasn't we didn't decide to be particularly aggressive, but we felt that good golf was going to be who was going to win out in the day. My dad is my favorite person in the world to play golf with. If I could play one person first in my life,

that my dad. We play a lot of golf together and um, and he just sent me and you out there today and he kept me really calm, and UM. We picked our lines a week really well, and we just did the same thing on the first team and you know, managed to strike that one down the middle and from there on it just it was just we're just out there playing golf. So yeah, I mean the first round, I got off to a pretty nice start.

You know. Um, it's a real having cameras for you, and there was quite a few of them because they were live streaming the final. And you know, on the first two You've got this camera in my face and don't really know what to do, you know, whether to like smile into it and laugh or try and be serious. Um. On the first team, I kind of forgot that the TV cameras were and that we learn were speaking away and we weren't sure if the cameras could hear what

we were saying. So we're just talking to we and then next thing, the guy, the camera guy is like literally in our face. We're like what and we just both just stopped speaking. It's like we're like, all right, so we don't know what to say tea chats, so we just stopped speaking. Then so we're off and running the opening t shots and there's thirty six whole final. The first few holes, the way they both they both like hit played great for the first kind of four

or five holes. Like obviously Load missed an opportunity, a couple of opportunities early on, but you know, to start off with that type of ball striking, you know, head it straight down the middle. On the first both of them hit, Load hit a great shot in and looks word of the club normally a suggestion the player likes it and so he should, you know, slightly messed the opportunity, but I think it definitely certain my nerves anyway, to see the way they were he was hitting the ball

that morning. You know, a dream of starting off like that if I was in a British Cemetary finals. So one thing that I probably am is a bit of a UM I love to show off, but I love to show my skills sort of thing. And I love playing in front of people. Um, so you know, I like the idea of people watching, um we play golf and trying to put on a bit of a show

and play some really nice stuff to start with. And this was happy enough, just just sort of was missing parts here and there and it wasn't really again the flats flatstick working m and then Monty made a bomb on on the fifth. I think it was to take the first hole, and what a part Monty scousel from downtown. He has a chip in on six from you know, No Man's Land. Mcaddy said to me, Monty gets up and down, I'm going in and shot scored towards the hall and I'm like, oh my god, oh my goodness.

Me and I went in the home. He hold the shot. I was like, wow, just trying to later and went, well, at least I don't need to go in because he hold it. So so he lost that hole. You know, you start to think, well things are going his way a little bit today, So that's kind of magic. You need them and that kind of final. So I suppose you've got to expect stuff like that to happen when you're playing um, great players and stuff like that, because you can't afford to have that sort of a few

minutes of shock and then effect your performance. But you know, I just the way things went, I lost lost three holes in a row, and you know, I wasn't putninged very well. You know, I probably could have been just three three down if I probably parted any decently, but I didn't, and before you know it, you know, making mistakes here and there, and Monty's getting some good shots here and there. And obviously if that's an eighteen whole match,

it's finished by thirteen or something. So for the next whatever many holes layered, was just trying to force the issue so much that he was just just giving away holes for for nothing, really money made a copy a pretty good part. Monty's partner in the morning was we

don't have a three part. Of course, what you do find in in the the amateur match plays that the pin positions are horrendous um and it's difficult to tell that from from the television very often you can't quite see how difficult they are, and they put them in situations where if if you you set up a stroke play competition with those pin positions, should have all the all the top pros and walk off because it said,

I'm not playing at a golf course like this. So it's to score as he did and to get as many birds as he did, he would have to how he was playing exceptional golf, and yes he probably played the best stay team he played all week out, saying Laird Shepherd didn't make a birdie in the morning round,

Monty Scousel made six. The weird thing is, and I've said this for a lot of people since the final, is that when do you ever play a thirty six sold match, you know, against someone Me and Lead had never done it unless you reach the final in one of these prestigious tournaments. You never at thirty six match. So obviously in the morning, if we played eighteen, I wouldn't have got six up. We would have been it would have been five and four or whatever the score was.

So it was it was weird. Um, I knew that I was playing well, and obviously Lead, you know, it was making some uncharacteristic mistakes. You know, he wasn't cutting well, he missed a few short puts, um, and that's that's golf. So I kind of I just kept focusing on on

my routines, kept focusing on on the golf. And actually one of my key focuses where I said, well, I know that I'm playing well right now and lead isn't and it's very important that I do try and make the most of this, this this run that I'm on because at some point he's going to come back at me. The third six old match was different. I mean, you just got there's so many holes and so much time for momentum to sway that um, you don't really know what to think. So um, I didn't. I didn't like

I played that badly. I just I was just got to stage when I was four or five down where I just started chasing and trying too hard to make up ground, and that's when you end up making mistakes. And you know, it was pretty deflated. I didn't have any adrenaline. I wasn't nervous because you know, I was so far behind, and that's what sort of keeps you going when you've been playing that much golf is the adrenaline, and I was I was sort of struggling to to

really know, concentrate and get and get some momentum. It was like Monty played well, but we had also gifted on hold, so it's just like a pile up of all was given away and punishment continues. Oh you know, it just kept kind of mounting as it wasn't it. It was five, six seven, and you know when he went eight down, you just it was just watching him be kind of more and more aflated every time he apart, just slid by. And I know he's a great potter. Um,

you know, he is a great potter. And one of the members said to me, are you know his laird is this kind of typical layered great ball striking just miss misses the parts. And I'm like, no, he's a great potter, like um, you know, I we part like a practice together all the time. He beats me far too often and parttings the strength of my game, so um so yeah, I think it was frustrating knowing that what he could have done had he kind of potted

the way he usually does. I had a part of sixteen actually to not go eight down for sixteen and I managed to hold it. But that was when the first came into my head, like, we don't want this to be embarrassing, lad you need to try and win some holes. And you know, no one wants to get

beaten by a record breaking score. And the largest margin of victory in the rich history of the Amateur Championship was nine thirty four at Presswick were lost and Little of America beat James Wallace of Scotland fourteen and thirteen. They started raining on thee in the morning. They hadn't rained all day and I'm not sure if Monty just got like a wet cloth face or something like that, and anyway, he just he just spread in what's short

of the day. You just put one out of bounds, which isn't really unplayed, but it probably is if you've got away cloth face. And then unfortunately he wins a team. But still, you know, seven down at at lunch, Monty doesn't want lunch. He just wants to keep on playing. We're all thinking, hey, early finished today, guys, that will this will be over by you know, early afternoon. To be honest, the break came at a terrible time for me. Um, you know, I was playing really well, um, and had

such a big lead. I just wanted to keep playing and and that that that break was strange because obviously all the other breaks that I've had previous days, I was going into the afternoon all square, new match against a new opponent. So it was a complete reset where it's going into that afternoon session with a with a seven up lead. Was it was. I found it really difficult, actually, Um,

you know I did. I did my normal warm up and went to the range, just clipped a few wedges away, hit some parts and then and then we teed off. But I did find it difficult to try and reset. It was also, you know, fatigue was kicking at this point, um, and I also realized, you know, seven up, like god, this is this is mine to lose now. Because pressure it does crazy things. And Martin must have been eating over his lunch thinking, oh my god, I'm going all

sorts of places here. I can't imagine what was going through his head at lunch time. I don't know if he said or what, but it must have been a pretty surreal lunch. Back to Lard's dad for his thoughts at the lunch break with his son seven down, well, they're saying soccer, if you can score just before halftime, it's quite a quite a boost to you when you start the second half. And obviously just numerically seven is better than eight. But absolutely you go in E's one

a whole. I won a whole. I can win a hole. I don't. I haven't made it Burdi yet, but I've won the whole. So U yeah, I'm sure. I'm sure it was a big filip for it room. I mean, you know, nonetheless, you know, I have to confess a bit of dooming bloom over the sandwich at lunch time. Um, seven is a big ask, but better than eight. So yeah, I can see that that was a pivotal well, a pivotal moment. Me and Monty eight a either ends of

the room. We didn't really choose to just that's where I happened, sat down and I think, you know, I wouldn't have I wouldn't have had lunch with them because I was I was not in a good mood, so I just wanted to be on my own. And and then Monty ends up going to hit some hit some balls as well, um to warm up to we warm up and by that stage I was over. I was like,

I can't be bothered to go to the ranger. I'm just gonna sit here and you know, maybe and then sort of like, okay, I'll go net some parts because I was having trouble with some part of them. Um and yeah, I just sort of didn't really didn't really talk about a whole lot of mccardi, just just just chatting about anything really, And he was obviously still telling me that, you know, it was still to play for

and Layer was prety down at lunch. But I just said, like, it's got a bit pressure on see seeing Monty handles for pressure and just see what happens. Just again, you've got none to lose now. I was like, everyone that's coming out to watch is going to be behind you. Nobody wants to see you get and thrashed. So if you start wearing a few holes, then the whole crowd is going to be behind you. Which asked the pressure for a month the lunch time break, what what to say?

It was a tricky thing, you know, I mean I basically just said I think that the lad said. I said, you know it's not over yet. You know, he's won seven goals on in the morning, you can easily win seven holes in the afternoon on him. So yeah, that was a tougher tougher coach coaching, not father, rather roll. Did you believe what you were saying? Uh? The odds obviously massively against it. Um, but I did believe it

was possible. What did you say? Um? Well, you know, I obviously went over to him, and I was trying to be the positive, motivational girlfriend and I was like, right, come on, biggest come back ever. And he's like, he's just he was so deflated. And I think obviously the week was taking it as tall on the both of them, and um, you know, just all that kind of every time he went another one down. I guess it just

adds to that kind of way on your shoulders. And I said, right, come on, they just come back ever ago and read that or something, and just like and I did believe he could do it, but you know,

you're struggling to believe he can do it. I know she's traveled all the way up from Saint Andrews, just like a four hour drive, and one of my my dad's good friends who I'm friends with as well, he'd taken a flight up from from London to come and watch me, and he only got there for in the morning and actually walked past him on the second hold in the afternoon and tatted on the shoulder and just said, justin I'm trying. I'm going to try and give you

some more entertainment for the day. I can try and extend it as long as possible, because you know, you've come a long way, and hopefully I'll try and give you some good golf to watch. That was that was you know, they you know clearly, you know said you know it's never over, and she definitely believed in me. But my mindset was just trying to give the people that are about to come and see play and give them some good golf to watch and you know, get

some good highlights to watch on YouTube. Even if I lost, Like, regardless of what anyone says them at lunch, the still seventh down, it doesn't like, I'm like seen comebacks better than this. Ah and and I was like, well, you never know, but realistically it's not going to happen. I didn't say that to him, but I mean anyone would think that. All right, it's halftime at their and Scusel is hitting balls Shepherd is hitting some puts and the

broadcast crew is making plans for the evening. Yeah, and everyone was planning, Hey, we're gonna get home lay, We're going to be out and Saturday night because this is this is going to be older. Early afternoon, we were all just in cruise control. It was like, what holl is this going to finish? Someone once said that you

have to be your strongest when you're feeling at your weakest. Remember, the Patriots were down three at halftime of the Super Bowl, Bills were down thirty five to three to the Oilers, Red Sox were down three games to nothing to the Yankees, And in two of his three US Amateur wins, Tiger Woods was five down with sixteen to play against Steve Scott and five down with twelve to play against Trip Keeney.

But he was Tiger freaking Woods. We can't get to the second half of this match without the support from our friends at part points. An innovative app that changes the way we score the game. Here's co creator Kevin Quinley on why you should try it the next time you play. Golf is fun and golf is also frustrating. Well, what the game needs to do is get that fun happening earlier, see more success early on, And that's that's

the overall goal of part points. Have more fun early, limit the frustration wom with the stressful parts of the game. Download part points now and go make part