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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 and 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
New Zealand Golf Circuit
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

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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 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

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Year Tour[a] Winner Score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up Venue Ref.
Air New Zealand Shell Open
1994 ANZ   Shane Robinson 274 −6 1 stroke   David McKenzie The Grange [3]
1993 ANZ   Terry Price 277 −3 1 stroke   Michael Campbell
  Brad Faxon
  Wayne Riley		 The Grange [4]
1992 ANZ   Nick Price 271 −9 Playoff   Lucas Parsons The Grange [5]
1991 ANZ   John Morse 273 −7 3 strokes   Nandasena Perera Titirangi [6]
1990 ANZ   Wayne Riley 268 −12 7 strokes   Frank Nobilo Titirangi
1989 ANZ   Don Bies 275 −5 4 strokes   Brad Andrews
  Glenn Joyner		 Titirangi [7]
1988 ANZ   Terry Gale (2) 271 −9 4 strokes   Hale Irwin
  Ossie Moore
  Jeff Woodland		 Titirangi [8]
1987 ANZ   Mike Colandro 270 −10 1 stroke   Rodger Davis Titirangi [9]
1986 ANZ   Rodger Davis 267 −13 3 strokes   Bob Shearer
  Curtis Strange		 Titirangi [10]
1985 ANZ   D. A. Weibring 264 −16 1 stroke   Rodger Davis Titirangi [11]
1984 ANZ   Brian Jones 266 −14 2 strokes   Wayne Grady Titirangi [12]
1983 ANZ   Bruce Devlin 200[b] −10 1 stroke   Bobby Clampett Titirangi [13]
1982 ANZ   Terry Gale 273 −7 Playoff   Wayne Grady Titirangi [14]
1981 ANZ   Bob Shearer 265 −15 8 strokes   Graham Marsh Titirangi [15]
1980 ANZ   Eamonn Darcy 268 −12 2 strokes   Lanny Wadkins Titirangi [16]
1979 NZGC   David Graham 279 −5 8 strokes   Rodger Davis Royal Wellington [17]
1978 NZGC   Bob Charles 273 −7 1 stroke   Graham Marsh Titirangi [18]
1977 NZGC   David Good 278 −2 Playoff   Bill Dunk Titirangi [19]
New Zealand Airlines Classic
1976 NZGC   Bob Shearer 271 −21 9 strokes   Bill Brask
  John Lister		 Russley [20]
1975 NZGC   Bill Brask 276 −8 1 stroke   Peter Thomson The Grange [21]

Notes

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  1. ^ ANZ − PGA Tour of Australasia; NZGC − New Zealand Golf Circuit.
  2. ^ Shortened to 54 holes due to rain.

References

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  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". Radio New Zealand. 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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