Air New Zealand Shell Open

The Air New Zealand Shell Open was a golf tournament held in New Zealand between 1975 and 1994. The event was the New Zealand Airlines Classic in 1975 and 1976 and the New Zealand Airlines Open in 1977. The Grange hosted the first and final editions of the event but Titirangi hosted the event the most, 14 times between 1977 - 1991. The only other courses to host the event were Russley (1976) and Wellington (1979).

Air New Zealand Shell Open
Tournament information
LocationAuckland, New Zealand
Established1975
Course(s)The Grange Golf Club
Par70
Tour(s)PGA Tour of Australasia
FormatStroke play
Prize fundNZ$300,000
Month playedDecember
Final year1994
Tournament record score
Aggregate264 D. A. Weibring (1985)
To par−21 Bob Shearer (1976)
Final champion
Australia Shane Robinson
Location Map
The Grange GC is located in New Zealand
The Grange GC
The Grange GC
Location in New Zealand

History

In 1975, the event was formed and hosted by Air New Zealand. In 1977, the event became part of the PGA Tour of Australia's Order of Merit.[1] The following year Shell Oil also became a title sponsor.

The 1979 event coincided with the Mount Erebus disaster. On November 28, the day before the tournament began, Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica. There was much discussion about cancelling the tournament. However, Morrie Davis (CEO of Air New Zealand) decided that the tournament would go on. Australian David Graham won the event.[2]

Winners
YearWinnerScoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-upVenueRef.
Air New Zealand Shell Open
1994Australia Shane Robinson274−61 strokeAustralia David McKenzieThe Grange[3]
1993Australia Terry Price277−31 strokeNew Zealand Michael Campbell
United States Brad Faxon
Australia Wayne Riley		The Grange[4]
1992Zimbabwe Nick Price271−9PlayoffAustralia Lucas ParsonsThe Grange[5]
1991United States John Morse273−73 strokesSri Lanka Nandasena PereraTitirangi[6]
1990Australia Wayne Riley268−127 strokesNew Zealand Frank NobiloTitirangi
1989United States Don Bies275−54 strokesAustralia Brad Andrews
Australia Glenn Joyner		Titirangi[7]
1988Australia Terry Gale (2)271−94 strokesUnited States Hale Irwin
Australia Ossie Moore
Australia Jeff Woodland		Titirangi[8]
1987United States Mike Colandro270−101 strokeAustralia Rodger DavisTitirangi[9]
1986Australia Rodger Davis267−133 strokesAustralia Bob Shearer
United States Curtis Strange		Titirangi[10]
1985United States D. A. Weibring264−161 strokeAustralia Rodger DavisTitirangi[11]
1984Australia Brian Jones266−142 strokesAustralia Wayne GradyTitirangi[12]
1983Australia Bruce Devlin200[lower-alpha 1]−101 strokeUnited States Bobby ClampettTitirangi[13]
1982Australia Terry Gale273−7PlayoffAustralia Wayne GradyTitirangi[14]
1981Australia Bob Shearer265−158 strokesAustralia Graham MarshTitirangi[15]
1980Republic of Ireland Eamonn Darcy268−122 strokesUnited States Lanny WadkinsTitirangi[16]
1979Australia David Graham279−58 strokesAustralia Rodger DavisRoyal Wellington[17]
1978New Zealand Bob Charles273−75 strokesAustralia Graham MarshTitirangi[18]
New Zealand Airlines Open
1977Australia David Good278−2PlayoffAustralia Bill DunkTitirangi[19]
New Zealand Airlines Classic
1976Australia Bob Shearer271−219 strokesUnited States Bill Brask
New Zealand John Lister		Russley[20]
1975United States Bill Brask276−81 strokeAustralia Peter ThomsonThe Grange[21]

Notes
  1. Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

References
  1. "Colour, class and characters bejewelled N.Z. golf open". The Press. 29 October 1977. p. 24. Retrieved 2 March 2023 – via Papers Past.
  2. "White Silence: The 'gloomy' golf tournament overshadowed by the Erebus disaster". RNZ. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  3. "Swede wobbles before taking Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 70, no. 21, 788. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 December 1994. p. 28. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Sizzling finish for Price in NZ Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 68, no. 21, 426. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 13 December 1993. p. 24. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Parsons 'thrilled' with his professional performance despite losing play-off to Pirce". The Canberra Times. Vol. 67, no. 21, 029. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 9 November 1992. p. 22. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Morse hangs on to capture Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 666. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 November 1991. p. 24. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Jones wins rich cup by 4 strokes". The Canberra Times. Vol. 64, no. 19, 745. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 October 1989. p. 28. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Four-stroke win to Gale in Air NZ golf". The Age. 12 December 1988. p. 30.
  9. "Colandro's luck changes at last". The Age. 7 December 1987. p. 33.
  10. "Third time lucky for Davis". The Age. 1 December 1986. p. 34.
  11. "Weibring victor in NZ Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 325. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 2 December 1985. p. 20. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Jones steals Open as Grady 'chokes'". The Age. 3 December 1984. p. 27.
  13. "Devlin wins NZ Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 58, no. 17, 599. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 5 December 1983. p. 15. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "Gale's grit beats late NZ open challenge". The Canberra Times. Vol. 57, no. 17, 236. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 6 December 1982. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "Shearer wins by 8". The Age. 7 December 1981. p. 27.
  16. "Darcy wins Air NZ Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 503. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 December 1980. p. 16. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "Graham by 8 shots". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 140. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 3 December 1979. p. 14. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. "Charles takes NZ Open". The Canberra Times. Vol. 53, no. 15, 779. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 December 1978. p. 20. Retrieved 27 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "Good beats Dunk in play off". The Canberra Times. Vol. 52, no. 14, 913. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 24 October 1977. p. 14. Retrieved 28 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. "Shearer 21 under card in N. Zealand win". The Canberra Times. Vol. 51, no. 14, 540. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 22 November 1976. p. 11. Retrieved 28 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. "Easy N.Z. win for Brask". The Canberra Times. Vol. 50, no. 14, 225. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 November 1975. p. 11. Retrieved 28 April 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
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