By Charlotte Tannenbaum, Duke Athletic Communications Student Assistant
DURHAM –
Golf has been a major part of Erica Shepherd’s life for as long as she can remember. Growing up on a golf course, the junior was raised surrounded by the game, hitting with her older brother and dad from a young age. But her family wasn’t the only exposure to the sport that she grew up with. Shepherd’s godmother Leigh Anne Hardin was a standout golfer who represented the Blue Devils from 2000-04, and has been a major influence in Shepherd’s golf career.
“I know I wouldn’t be here or have the passion I do for golf if she wasn’t here,” Shepherd says. “Growing up, even outside of the golf course, I thought she was the coolest person ever. She was always super good to me and my brother. We had so much fun with her. I just wanted to do whatever Leigh Anne did.”
And so, Shepherd set her sights on Duke.
“Leigh Anne played for Coach Brooks and she’s my role model so it’s always been my dream,” she explains.
Three years into her Duke golf career, Shepherd has never been more confident she made the right choice. “I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. This is definitely the place for me. I’ve made a lot of great connections, and I love what I’m doing here and the people I’m surrounded by.”
Though playing at Duke has been one of Shepherd’s biggest dreams realized, the 2021 WGCA All-America is by no means complacent to sit back now that she’s here. In fact, the Greenwood, Ind., product has her sights set on another lofty goal inspired by her godmother – the Curtis Cup.
“Every time Leigh Anne talks about her golf memories, it’s always Curtis Cup,” said Shepherd. “It’s always been a huge goal of mine.”
Shepherd is not alone in her dream. To represent the United States in the legendary Curtis Cup is an honor golfers all over the country strive for.
“It’s so hard to make the team…it’s the best amateurs in the world,” said Shepherd, who hopes to be one of them. This year has particular significance for the player.
“It makes it even more meaningful and special because it’s at the place where Leigh Anne won the Girl’s Junior at – Merion Golf Club. That would be such a cool memory to both play there in a big USGA event.”
Recently, Shepherd made it another step closer to her goal. She was invited in January by the United States Golf Association (USGA) International Team Selection Working Group to practice with other golfers that have a chance to be on the renowned United States Curtis Cup team.
“It was more of a getting to know the rest of the team than an intense tryout,” she described. For a golfer like Shepherd, who grew up in the golf world, the weekend was more full of reunions than introductions.
“I played junior golf with a lot of those girls, and now we’re all at different schools and don’t get to see each other that much. The weekend wasn’t too intense, but honestly just seeing all those girls again was so much fun.”
The potential golfers aren’t the only ones Shepherd was familiar with. Sarah LeBrun Ingram, former Duke standout and three-time Curtis Cup representative, is the team’s returning captain. With the legendary careers of Blue Devils like Ingram and Hardin to look up to, Shepherd certainly has many great Duke examples to guide her as she sets new goals. A golfer with big dreams and the motivation and skill to achieve them, she has proven that she’s not one to back down from a challenge. Making the Curtis Cup team may be the biggest one she’s faced thus far. But if anyone has what it takes, it’s Erica Shepherd.
Duke has a long line of tradition of Blue Devils competing in the Curtis Cup. Since 1992, the Duke has had at least one representative in the Curtis Cup, and in 14 of the 15 times it has been contested. It is the best streak of any school in the nation.
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