Shearer finds form

Press, 29 November 1979, Page 32

Shearer finds form

, PA Wellington The Australian golf professional, Bob Shearer, looks set to break a winless streak in the $75,000 Air New Zea-land-Shell Open tournament Which will start at Wellington’s Heretaunga course today. Shearer’s winning pros'pects seem bright after a j sizzling six-under-par 65 in |yesterday’s $l5OO pro-am. The 31-year-old Shearer ■ was one of the tail-enders in the big field but rattled home strongly, needing only 32 shots on the par 36 back nine. The birdies came at the eleventh, fourteenth, seven-; teenth, and eighteenth holes,; and apart from a 25-footer on the fourteenth, none of the hole-finding putts were long. Shearer is overdue for a : big tournament victory. He was close to taking the; top prizes in three big events, on the Australian tour re-: cently. His score glowed on a day ■ when only two other pro-' fessionals — Stewart Ginn. 1 of Australia, and Richard: Coombes, of Wellington,' managed to better par 71. ; Ginn fired 69 while: Coombes was only a shot: worse. However, conditions! were not difficult. While Shearer fired, some ; of the others expected to I fight for the big money did! not. ; New Zealanders Simon! Owen and Barry Vivian carded even par 71s, but the favoured Australian, David Graham, shot 74. | He was not on his own, though. Billy Casper was! round in 75, and Gene Litt-: ler and Brian Barnes didn’t; complete their rounds.