Sheppard falls out of Amateur
8/27/2010 8:35:17 PM | Men's Golf
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- ACU golfer Tyler Sheppard's run at the U.S. Amateur Championship ended on Thursday afternoon, but he didn't go down without a fight.
Sheppard battled back from a two-hole deficit to take the lead against\Stanford golfer Joseph Bramlett, and the match was all square heading into the 18th hole at Chambers Bay.
But on that final hole, Bramlett recorded a birdie on the 605-yard par-5, while Sheppard had a double bogey and Bramlett won 1-up in a second-round match.
"I'm very happy I made it this far, but I wish I could keep going in it, but I know there is plenty more of these to come," Sheppard told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram. "I've made a lot of good strides the past six months in my game and really made a lot of improvements with my mental game and course management."
Sheppard earned the right to compete in the round of 32 by defeating North Carolina native Scott Harvey, 4 and 2 on Wednesday, and late in Thursday's match it looked like he might make the final 16.
The match was even through seven holes before Bramlett won Nos. 8 and 9 to take a 2-up lead. But Sheppard came back to win Nos. 10 and 11 to even the match.
A hole later, Sheppard eagled the 304-yard, par-4 12th to take a one-hole lead as he drove the green and made an 8-foot putt. The match stayed that way for the next three holes, but the momentum of the match turned on No. 16.
With the hole playing shorter than normal, Sheppard hit 3-wood instead of layup up with a 3-iron, and he badly hooked his shot. Seeing his opponent in trouble, Bramlett laid up and settled for a par, while Sheppard scrambled for a bogey, leaving the match all square.
"I was over the shot and I wasn't committed," Sheppard told the Reporter-Telegram. "I should've backed off and hit a 3-iron, but it was a mental mistake. That took some momentum from me to put it back his way."
The two halved No. 17, and then on 18, Sheppard's tee shot found the bunker, and then his second shot went straight up in the air and plugged into the same bunker. Bramlett finished the hole with a birdie while Sheppard settled for a disheartening double bogey.
"It was a tough way to end, but it was such a good experience," Sheppard said. "I've taken a lot of positives out of the week."
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