The Curious Career of Gordon Sherry

There is always a phenom coming down the 18th fairway. A young player appearing certain to become a big PGA Tour sensation.  And some do get out on tour and are successful. Jordan Spieth would most recently be in the category. There is no assurance being the number one amateur guarantees the ability to obtain a PGA Tour card. However, occasionally a young player comes on the scene where the question is not, if he or she will make it on tour, but how big they will be. Gordon Sherry, the 1995 British Amateur Champion, and top ranked amateur player in the world, was just such a player. What happened to this great amateur player, who after turning professional, never qualified for a card on any tour?

Gordon Sherry, now 42, has lived in the Glasgow, Scotland area his entire life. Injured in a skiing accident in 1990 at age 15, he quit soccer to focus on golf.  Living in the Ayrshire district, he came under the tutelage of Bob Torrence, father of Ryder Cup hero Sam Torrence.  Gordon quickly improved to the point where in 1994 he reached the finals of the British Amateur at Nairn Golf Club, a remarkable achievement. Then, with tremendous resolve, he came back and won the 1995 British Amateur at Hoylake. This earned him an invitation to The Masters.

Playing the British Open in 1995 he was paired the first two rounds with Tom Watson and Greg Norman. Gordon beat both players for 36 holes and was near the top 10, eventually finishing 29th. He finished fourth in the Scottish Open and was named to the winning 1995 Walker Cup Team at Porthcawl, Wales. It was a team that defeated the US led by Tiger Woods.  By the end of 1995 some ranked Gordon as the number one amateur in the world. Turning professional in 1996, along with Tiger Woods, some writers felt Gordon would be the more successful.

I became acquainted with Gordon through one of his closest friends, Russell Thornton. Gordon is friendly, funny, and intelligent. He has strong people skills and is an all around nice person. Russell had a birds eye view of Gordon's entire career, playing against him in the Ayrshire area of Scotland, as a teammate at Stirling University, and caddying for him during his professional career.

"Gordon was good right away," Russell told me, "in spite of being of 6' 8.  Bob Torrence, his coach, was able to instill in him great confidence. He was obsessive about practicing, encouraged by Bob. 'If you're not practicing eight hours a day, there is someone out there that is', Bob would say."  

Gordon is one of the tallest players to reach the top levels in golf.  He was and still is the owner of one of the best putting strokes I have seen. "It's so rhythmical and smooth that it looks different than other good putting strokes," an observer commented.

"Don't ever change your putting stroke or your putter," Greg Norman reportedly told him after being paired for 36 holes at The Open in 1995.

1996 found Gordon and Russell traveling to Desert Mountain in Scottsdale to prepare for the Masters and see renowned instructor Jim Flick. Bob Torrence, Gordon's teacher who took him to the top of amateur golf, had become alcoholic.  

"It was unbearable," said Gordon. "One day I showed up and there were two vodka bottles on the ground." 

Gordon was the son of a policeman who played golf. However, his father had little knowledge of advising someone at Gordon's level, thus he lacked an advisor to help guide him. No one was in his life to help direct him in preparation for the Masters.

"We were picked up at the airport in Phoenix in January of 1996, by a friend who was a volunteer with the Phoenix Open," Russell told me. "He told Gordon he had been given an exemption into the Phoenix Open. Gordon declined the invitation."

"It was the first I had heard about it," said Gordon. "I really didn't know what the Phoenix Open was. I was a bit stubborn. If someone had said to me 'We're working on an exemption into the Phoenix Open,' it would have been different. I didn't have anybody managing me, pre Masters. I should have played the Phoenix Open and also gone to play in Dubai before the Masters."  None the less, Gordon practiced hard, with the attitude he could win the Masters.

"I was at The Masters and met Hooty Johnson, (Chairman of Augusta National). He asked me why I had not come in to play the course before Masters week?  I had no idea I could even do that. Later in the week, I was on the first tee paired with Fred Couples. I had never been nervous on the 1st tee in my life until Fred asked me if I had been preparing for the Masters.  I told him I had been practicing. He then said, 'Did you have some good results from that?'" 

"I immediately realized my preparation was wrong.  I lost my competitive edge, not having played a tournament since November." As Gordon said in his good humor, "I played four rounds at the Masters, but two of them were practice rounds."  He missed the cut shooting 77, 78 and headed back to Scotland, turning pro. "Not having played any competitive golf for six months, I was lucky to break 80 at Augusta.  I just didn't have anybody asking questions about what I was doing."

"I signed several sponsorship deals, one was with Titleist. It was a mistake. I later learned Nike was prepared to offer me more than ten times as much money, but I had to wear the Nike logo hat. Since I had already signed the Titleist deal, which included the hat, the offer went away. What kind of management was that? My management company should have approached all the potential sponsors at the same time."  

His management company encouraged him to play only bigger tournaments where he could get exemptions. He went from playing 30 tournaments a year, winning 15 or more in 1995, to playing less than ten, winning none. It was all in an attempt to gain exempt status on the European Tour. The strategy failed.

In addition, he contracted mononucleosis as he was about to start his professional career in 1996. Entered in six tournaments around the world, he had to withdraw from all because of the illness. There is some discussion about how long it sidelined him, but suffice it so say it was many months as he struggled to get his strength and stamina back.  

"After the 1997 season the exemptions dried up,"  said Russell. "He didn't want to play the Challenge Tour, (the European version of the Web.com tour), as he thought it was below him. In addition, the entry fee for a Challenge Tour event was the same as a regular European Tour event.  However, the purses were considerably smaller and many were in obscure locations, translating into expensive travel costs. When he did play a Challenge Tour event and was not in contention, he would sometimes quit.  He didn't know how to grind. He always won by just playing, not having to work hard to make a score or turn average scores into good ones." 

Russell continued, "When he was at home he had a great support group. However, out on the road there was no support to keep him going emotionally. He had money from all the sponsorship deals. Thus there was no pressure to make a check. He didn't take failure well."

"Gordon is one of the nicest, most generous, happiest people I know," said Russell.  "He never gets up on the wrong side of the bed.  However, because he always won, he was a little arrogant on the course.

He tried and failed to get a European Tour card several times.  He played some Challenge Tour events, but did not win.  "From a ball striking perspective he lost his driving" said Russell.

"I would go to see Flick. He would point out everything wrong with my swing," said Gordon.  "I would go back to Scotland and be lost. The distance from Flick was a real problem."

Bob Torrence instilled confidence, while Flick focused on change. "Gordon hooked the ball," said Russell.  "Bob would say, 'You're good to go.' And with his great short game he did well. Flick tried to get him to not hook the ball. It didn't work. After a while, he saw many different teachers."  

From his peak in 1995, where he competed with the best in the world, he played infrequently the next two years. This was largely because of his illness in 1996, and his interest in only playing tournaments he was exempted into in 1997.  In 1998 and later, with no status on the European Tour and few invitations granted, he was relegated to the Challenge Tour, where he found little success.  For several years Gordon attempted to get on the European Tour, but was never able to qualify.  By 2004 he was done with tournament golf.

In retrospect, Gordon's golf career stalled for many reasons. Going to the first tee at the Masters not having played a tournament for six months was naive.  The failure to have someone advising him was unfortunate.  Getting sick after the Masters meant he went for over a year with little competition.  He had bad advice in limiting his events in 1997. Most successful PGA Tour and European Tour players play tournament after tournament on their way to the big tour, as Gordon did when he was an amateur.  

The downfall of Bob Torrence undoubtedly hurt Gordon. Torrance was not only his swing coach, but also his mental support.  Gordon grew up around people giving him strength and support. When he fell out with Torrence he lost the person telling him his swing would work, giving him confidence. 

His success as an amateur hurt him as a professional.  it was probably human nature to think after beating many of the world's top players, the motivation to play lesser events would be emotionally difficult.  He lost his competitive edge by not playing.  

Gordon is involved with several aspects of the game, including managing players, promoting various businesses, public speaking, and founding a golf travel club.  Gordon is a resourceful entrepreneur and continues to be an excellent player. He still lives in the Glasgow area with his wife and five children.

There are a thousand reasons why great players don't make it to the tour.  Gordon Sherry has accepted and adapted to his place in the game. He is a great guy with an interesting story in A Life in Golf.