In a new interview, David Feherty talks about his son, Shey, who died last year from an overdose at the age of 29. “He was the sweetest boy you would ever meet,” he says.
The wide-ranging profile, published in Golf Digest, covers Feherty’s career, his marriage, and his friendships with golf’s biggest stars, like Rory McIlroy.
But the most poignant moments focus on Feherty’s relationship with and feelings about his son. “He was lost in so many ways. Reminded me a lot of me,” Feherty says. “Which is just one of the reasons I can’t help but feel devastated and guilty about what happened to him.”
Feherty has fought his own battles with addiction for years, and says he struggled to cut his son off when he asked for money, even though he knew that Shey was probably using the money to buy drugs. “The truth is, I’d broken down on several occasions and given him money again. He was so sweet, and I couldn’t say no to him. Plus, like all of us addicts, he was a very good liar. He convinced me the money wasn’t for drugs. I’m sure I knew deep down he was lying, but I wanted to believe he was really on the way to coming out on the other side,” he says.
Today, Feherty says he has learned to manage with help from his wife Anita and from friends like McIlroy and Tom Watson, and that despite all the pain of what he’s been through, he is finding happiness. “There isn’t a day that goes by when I’m not sad for at least part of the day…And yet, I love my life,” he says. “I don’t see how I could possibly be any happier than I am right now.”
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