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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, December 13, 2012 · 24 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR:JONKUIPERIJ Phone 905-632-0588 (ext. 294) email sports@oakvillebeaver.com Driving into the sunset No longer passionate about professional golf, Jessica Shepley announces retirement at age 29 By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLEBEAVERSTAFF s a young amateur golfer, the goals were easy. Break 100, break 90, break 80. They were tangible numbers to strive for. While she doesn't remember the details of the rounds, Jessica Shepley certainly remembers the feelings associated with achieving those goals. "I remember shooting 78. I don't remember exactly where it was or anything like that, but I remember being so excited." Eventually, though, you're shooting in the 60s and playing golf at the highest level the sport has to offer. Suddenly those goals become harder to define and increasingly more difficult to reach. Which is where Shepley found herself earlier this year. Playing in the LPGA's Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va. in September, the Oakville native finished just two shots behind Morgan Pressel and four behind Christie Kerr and Michelle Wie -- all of whom who have been ranked among the world's top 10 women golfers. But the sport Shepley had been playing for 20 years felt different. "To be honest, I just wasn't fully there," the 29-year-old said. "My concentration, getting myself up for a tournament, I didn't feel the same fire and passion." After missing the cut, Shepley gathered her belongings and moved home. She took some time to consider her future. She knew how hard she had worked to get to where she was. She knew how many golfers were struggling just to get to that same place. She wanted to make sure she wasn't throwing away a great opportunity. Eventually, Shepley came to the decision that she made public Monday. She was retiring from professional golf. "I was finding it harder to come up with goals," said Shepley, the top Canadian finisher at the CN Canadian Women's Open the past two years. "That spark was gone. It's hard to do it when you're competing against girls who want to be No. 1 in the world." Shepley retires from the game with four professional victories. Earlier this year, she A BERNARD BRAULT / GOLF CANADA BYE BYE BIRDIES: Iroquois Ridge grad Jessica Shepley announced her retirement from professional golf this week. The 29-year-old, who was the top Canadian at the CN Canadian Women's Open the past two years, said she found it more difficult to motivate herself in recent years. reached 284th on the world golf rankings following a career-best 27th-place finish at the LPGA Lotte Championship in April. Taught as youngster by Sandra Post Shepley's father introduced her to the game. Bret Shepley coached his son Zack (who went on to play five years in the Ontario Hockey League) in the winter, and golf was a way for father and daughter to spend some time together in the summer. Soon, Shepley was entering tournaments and showing promise. At the Canadian junior championships at York Downs in Unionville, eight-time LPGA winner Sandra Post was speaking to the players. Afterward, while signing autographs she noticed a young girl hanging back. When Post finished, the girl walked up and said, `Hi, I'm Jessica. I play at Trafalgar.'" Trafalgar was also the club where Post got her start. The two struck up a friendship and Post began coaching Shepley. "She had a great disposition, and her personality, you couldn't help but like Jessica," Post said. "Physically, she had the stature for a golfer and she had a lot of desire and drive." The student initially didn't know her teacher's credentials. "Being 12 at the time, and not really coming from a golf family, I can't say I was entirely knowledgeable of her career," Shepley said. Post gave Shepley her first exposure to the world of professional golf, taking her to watch the Dinah Shore Classic. Meanwhile, Shepley's amateur career was taking off. At 17, she was the runner-up at the Canadian Women's Amateur. The following year, she won the Ontario Women's Amateur and the Ontario Junior Match Play titles. Although a pro career was in the back of her mind, Shepley also knew golf could help her get an education. The Iroquois Ridge grad earned a scholarship to the University of Tennessee, where she had 13 top-10 finishes, including a top-five at the NCAA championships. Life as pro golfer was roller coaster The life of a professional golfer looks glamourous, at least for those at the top of the game. But for every one at the top, there are a hundred trying to get there. For those golfers there are no private jets -- or any planes, for that matter. The majority of golf pros criss-cross the country in their cars trying to scrape together enough money to pay their bills and hoping to earn status on a higher tour. With that life come highs and lows, and Shepley rode that roller coaster after turning pro following college. From earning her first pro victory at the Canadian Women's PGA Championship in Dundas in 2009, to totaling her car during a rain storm on an Illinois highway while driving to a tournament, Shepley experienced it all. Her opportunities to play on the LPGA increased each year since first gaining conditional status in 2009. She played 19 LPGA tournaments, making eight cuts, in the past two years, but she continued to play on the Futures Tour as well. Last July, she earned her first victory after seven years on the tour. In a career that had many highlights -- including running the Olympic torch through Oakville -- the Futures win was obviously a meaningful one. "My first pro win was special, and the fact that I had three in Canada, but that first See Shepley, page 25