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Making the cut Scott Sheftall (JD 76)BY IAN FISHERScott D. Sheftall (JD 76) hadn’tseriously golfed for 35 yearsbefore he decided to pick up hisclubs and play in a few tournamentqualifiers.Sheftall entered a 2008 SeniorU.S. Open sectional qualifier inBoynton Beach, Fla., on June 27. Tosay he didn’t expect to qualify wouldbe an understatement.Sheftall birdied the 18th hole toforce a sudden-death playoff to qualifyfor the Senior U.S. Open, whichwas held at Broadmoor in ColoradoSprings, Colo. On the third hole of theplayoff, he and his wife Regina, whowas caddying, walked up to the greenand couldn’t believe what they saw.“It was a pretty special moment,”Sheftall said. “I turned to my wife aswe walked up to the green and sawthat I only had a one-and-a-half-footputt, and I told her, ‘It looks likewe’re going to Colorado, baby.’ ”Sheftall sank the short putt, andhe and his wife were off to Coloradofor practice rounds on July 28.Sheftall practiced with former Gatorgolfer Andy Bean, whom he hadcoincidentally played against as anundergraduate at Davidson College.And although Sheftall didn’t makethe cut or even play his best, he willnever forget the trip.“It was an amazing, once-in-alifetimeexperience, one that I trulynever expected to happen to me giventhe fact that I hadn’t really playedserious golf for about 35 years sincecollege, until about two summers ago,when I decided I would play in a fewtournament qualifiers,” Sheftall said.“Once I qualified and went to ColoradoSprings with my wife for theU.S. Open, I was awestruck by howwonderful it was to play in a nationalchampionship — to be inside theropes, to be in the locker room withthe great players, and to just enjoy theentire spectacle, which I did.”Sheftall’s extra confidence duringthe qualifying tournament came bothfrom watching his alma mater Davidsonin an unlikely NCAA BasketballTournament run and from having hiswife at his side the whole tournament.“I got to see what Coach BobMcKillop of Davidson was gettingat when he was telling his playersabout the importance of translating adream into a belief, a genuine belief,and not just a wish,” Sheftall said.“To see the players buy into his philosophyof competition and actuallymake it happen with limited talentwas very inspiring and it really sort ofgalvanized in me a new sense of confidence.… That coupled with the factthat my wife Regina caddied for mein the qualifier. She had never seenme play competitive golf before; shehad never caddied for anyone. Buthaving someone believe in me and bethere to keep me calm and focusedand to persevere through leg crampsand everything — I think that was thefinal secret ingredient that made therecipe for success work.”Back in his day job, Sheftall isa trial lawyer for Sheftall & Torres,P.A, which he founded in 1996, andhis practice is mostly complex civillitigation. The firm has developedan affinity for issues involving childrenafter Sheftall hooked up withDr. R. Rodney Howell, the chairmanemeritus of pediatrics at the Universityof Miami. Howell is also aDavidson graduate.Sheftall is very involved withchildren-related community service,and his wife teaches elementaryschool in inner-city Miami.“Not too many people could understandand still can’t understandwhy an ardent Gator like myself— I’ve been a Gator since I was 5years old — could be contributingso much to the University of Miami,”Sheftall said. “But I’ve lived downhere for 30 years. As I said, the invitationI received from Dr. Howell,who was a Davidson graduate, gotme involved. I do have a passion forchildren’s health care and believe thatlawyers should be involved in theircommunities in a positive and visibleway. For all those reasons, it justsolidified a connection with the Universityof Miami down here, whichScott Sheftall claps on his way to thefourth hole of the U.S. Senior Open,held at the legendary Broadmoor golfcourse in Colorado Springs, Colo.“I was awestruck by how wonderfulit was to play in a national championship— to be inside the ropes... andto just enjoy the entire spectacle.”was about as unlikely as me qualifyingfor the U.S. Open.”But Sheftall is still a Gator atheart. His father went to UF in the1930s, when it was an all men’sschool with about 2,300 students,he said.Sheftall grew up in Jacksonvilleand came to many historic Gatorgames over the years. He attendedthe game against Auburn in whichSteve Spurrier kicked a game-winningfield goal to clinch the 1966Heisman Trophy.Sheftall even named his twoboykin spaniel retrievers Tebowand Saurian, which fans used to callGator football players. A saurianis an ancient ancestor to modernreptiles.“If there were any doubt in yourmind about my allegiance to theUniversity of Florida in spite of mycomments about Davidson and theUniversity of Miami, that shouldput it to rest,” Sheftall said. “You’llnote that I did not name my dogsWildcat and Hurricane.” ■FALL 2008 51