Shearer coasts to eight-stroke win at Titirangi

Press, 7 December 1981, Page 36

Shearer coasts to eight-stroke win at Titirangi

PA Auckland The Australian, Bob Shearer, made a mockery of a.class field to win the Air New Zealand - Shell golf Open at Titirangi by eight strokes from fellow countryman, Graham Marsh yesterday. New Zealand’s Bob Charles was third, two shots behind Marsh and two strokes clear of the British Open winner, the American Bill Rogers, and Australians Chris Tickner and Mike Cahill. >

Next in line for the minor money were last year's winner, the Irishman. Eamonn Darcy, and the Australian, Guy Wolstenholme. Shearer started yesterday’s final round with a handy 10-stroke lead over Charles and Tickner. With Shearer so far out in front, the academic interest in the day’s play was the race for the minor money with Marsh, Cahill and the Australian, Stephen Bann, only one stroke behind Charles and Tickner. As it happened, it was Marsh who returned the best round of the day, a four under the card 66, who made ground to take the $9BOO second prize. However, there could be no denying Shearer the $lB,OOO first prize. After a scratchy start and shots dropped on the second and fifth, he got it all going together and from there on had the situation under control.. “I was still playing well,” said Shearer after his round.

"It took a matter of time to put it together. “Every shot worried me but I never hit anything that looked like it would land in the bushes. This course is harder than it looks and you have to manoeuvre the ball to the hole," he said. “But I think it is a great course. It is the first time I have played well here. There are some long holes. But there are some short ones that are birdie territory and that is what the gallery likes. But if you don’t watch out it is a course that cian get up and grab you.” Shearer said it was his thirty-first tournament for the year and his winnings are now pushing the $lOO,OOO mark. With all that experience behind him he was not overawed by the handy 10 stroke overnight lead. “It didn’t mean a lot,” he said. “If I had a bad one Marshy or someone could have come through. So it was a matter of hitting the greens, and making someone else do the work.”

It was Shearer’s second win in the tournament. His last win in the Air New Zealand Open was at Russley, Christchurch, in 1976 when he finished nine strokes ahead of the New Zealander, John Lister. That was in the infancy of the New t Zealand professional circuit and on that occasion his share of the purse from the $35,000 tournament was $7OOO Charles, who a week before was pipped by Terry Gale in the N.Z.P.G.A. tournament at Tauranga, had second money whipped from under his nose yesterday by Marsh. Charles, starting the day four under the card, dropped one on the front nine then proceeded to get back into it with an eagle on 12. He dropped one on the 13th, picked it up on the 16th and a one under 69 was a good afternoon's work. However, he could not equal Marsh who was the only golfer in the field to set out and try to catch Shearer.

265-R. Shearer (Aust.). 63. 66. 67. 69 ($18.0(10). 273-G. Marsh (Aust.). 67. 71. 69. 66 ($9800). 275-R. ,1. Charles (N.Z.). 66. 69. 71. 69 ($6600). 277— W. Rogers (U.S.). 72. 67. 71.67: C. Tickner (U.S.). 66. 72, 68. 71; M. Cahill (Aust.). 68. 69. 70. 70 ($3893). 278— E. Darcy (Ireland). 72. 71, 68. 67; G. Wolstenholme (Aust.), 69. 69. 72, 68 ($2760). 279— W. Dunk (Aust.), 68. 69, 71. 71: B. Heins (U.S.), 69, 69, 70. 71; S. Bann (Aust.). 73, 68, 66. 72. 280— M. Clayton (Aust.), 73, 69, 68. 70. 281— V. Somers (Aust.), 70. 74. 68. 69; R. Davis (Aust.), 69, 71, 72, 69. 282— Bembridge (U.K.), 70. 69. 74, 69; K. Nagle (Aust.), 71, 71, 67. 73. 283— R. Coombes (N.Z.), 72, 71, 73. 67; S. Owen (N.Z.). 74. 73. 68. 68: I. Stanley (Aust.), 75. 70, 70. 68; D. Walters (U.S.), 69, 72. 69, 73: J. Lister (N.Z.). 69, 69, 71,74. 284— F. NobilO (N.Z.). 70, 74. 71. 69: A. Russell (U.S.), 72. 71. 69. 72; S. Reese (N.Z.). 63, 75, 72, 74. 285— G. Halberg (U.S.). 74. 71, 70. 70; A. Bonnington (N.Z.), 75. 70. 71. 69; P. Mateer (N.Z.), 70. 73. 70. 72. 286— L. Hinkle (U.S.). 71. 71, 77. 67; B. Vivian (N.Z.). 71. 72, 73. 70; S. Ginn (Aust.). 72. 71. 71. 72; W.

Grade (Aust.). 69. 74. 66. 77. 287 — Ball (Aust.). 73. 70. 76. 68. 288— M. Krantz (U.S.). 73. 73. 73. 69; J. Anderson (Can.). 71, 71. 74. 72; D Hepler (U.S,). 72. 72, 70. 74: M. Harwood (Aust.), 72, 73. 69, 74. 289— W. Godfrey (N.Z.). 71. 76. 72. 70; C. Bishop (Aust.), 71. 72, 75, 71; T. Graham (U.S.), 74, 70, 76, 69. 290— T. Jackson (U.S.). 73, 70, 74. 73; N. Ratcliffe (Aust.), 72, 69. 75. 74: G. Merrick (Aust.), 73, 73, 71, 73; J. Godwin (U.S.), 72, 71, 74, 73; W. Chancellor (N.Z.), 74, 72, 69. 75. 291— Clifford (Aust.), 68, 79, 71, 73; I. Baker-Finch (Aust.), 69, 76. 72, 74; K. Dukes (Aust.), 72, 72. 73. 74: L. Collins (U.S.), 71, 72, 73, 75. . 292— R. Lee (Aust.). 72, 73, 76, 71; M. Holland (Aust.), 73, 70, 74, 75. 293— R. Swanson (Aust.), 74, 68, 76. 75; R. Stephens (Aust.), 75, 70, 74. 74. 295—M. Moynihan (N.Z.). 74. 73. 78. 70. 297 -J. Benda (U.S.). 74. 73. 77. 73. ... 300—W. Young (Aust.). 75. 72. 76. 77; T. Ireland (Aust.). 75, 71, 72. 82. 307—P. Hamblett (N.Z.). 73, 73. 85, 76.