Robert Alan Shearer OAM (25 May 1948 – 9 January 2022) was an Australian professional golfer and golf course architect.

Bob Shearer
OAM
Personal information
Full nameRobert Alan Shearer
Born(1948-05-25)25 May 1948
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died9 January 2022(2022-01-09) (aged 73)
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb; 13.2 st)
Sporting nationality Australia
SpouseKathie Shearer
Children2
Career
Turned professional1971
Former tour(s)PGA Tour of Australasia
European Tour
PGA Tour
European Senior Tour
Professional wins27
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour1
European Tour2
PGA Tour of Australasia16
European Senior Tour4
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT35: 1977
PGA ChampionshipT26: 1978
U.S. OpenT16: 1978
The Open ChampionshipT7: 1978
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour of Australia
Order of Merit winner
1974, 1977, 1981, 1982

Early life and amateur career

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Shearer was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He won the 1969 Australian Amateur, having been a joint medalist the previous year.[1][2]

Professional career

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Shearer turned professional in early 1971.[3] He won the PGA Tour of Australia Order of Merit four times: 1974, 1977, 1981, 1982.[4] He spent five years on the European Tour and then nine on the PGA Tour.[5] His career year was 1982 when he won the Australian Open and his sole PGA Tour event, the Tallahassee Open. He had 18 top-10 finishes in PGA Tour events. His best finish in a major championship was a T-7 at the 1978 Open Championship.[6]

Later he split his time between his golf course design work and the European Senior Tour.[5]

Death

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Shearer died from a heart attack on 9 January 2022, at the age of 73.[7]

Amateur wins

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Professional wins (27)

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PGA Tour wins (1)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runners-up
1 18 Apr 1982 Tallahassee Open −16 (69-69-68-66=272) 1 stroke   Hal Sutton,   Denis Watson

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1982 Michelob-Houston Open   Ed Sneed Lost to birdie on first extra hole

European Tour wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 26 Apr 1975 Madrid Open −9 (68-67=135) 3 strokes   Dale Hayes,   Norman Wood
2 10 May 1975 Piccadilly Medal −3 (70) 19 holes   Andries Oosthuizen

European Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1974 Benson & Hedges Festival of Golf   Philippe Toussaint Lost to par on first extra hole

PGA Tour of Australia wins (16)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 20 Jan 1974 Coca-Cola Lakes Open +5 (74-75-72-76=297) Playoff   Ted Ball,   Paul Murray
2 3 Feb 1974 Tasmanian Open −7 (67-70-73-71=281) Playoff   Ted Ball
3 10 Nov 1974 Chrysler Classic −1 (65-74-70-74=283) 9 strokes   Bruce Devlin
4 10 Nov 1975 West Lakes Classic −2 (73-70-69-70=282) Playoff   Mike Cahill
5 7 Nov 1976 Chrysler Classic (2) −3 (72-69-72-68=281) Playoff   Stewart Ginn
6 30 Oct 1977 CBA West Lakes Classic (2) −13 (67-69-68-67=271) 6 strokes   David Good
7 27 Nov 1977 Colgate Champion of Champions −7 (66-71-72-72=281) 1 stroke   Maurice Bembridge,   John Benda,
  Curtis Strange,   Jack Newton
8 19 Oct 1980 Tooth Gold Coast Classic −9 (70-70-70-69=279) 1 stroke   Don January,   Art Russell,
  Bob Shaw,   Chris Tickner
9 6 Dec 1981 Air New Zealand Shell Open −15 (63-66-67-69=265) 8 strokes   Graham Marsh
10 13 Dec 1981 New Zealand BP Open −3 (74-67-72-72=285) 3 strokes   Terry Gale
11 24 Oct 1982 New South Wales Open −12 (71-66-66-69=272) 1 stroke   Graham Marsh
12 21 Nov 1982 Australian Open −1 (75-70-72-70=287) 4 strokes   Jack Nicklaus,   Payne Stewart
13 13 Feb 1983 Victorian Open −6 (73-71-68-70=282) 1 stroke   Greg Norman
14 6 Nov 1983 Yakka Australian PGA Championship E (72-76-69-71=288) 2 strokes   Ossie Moore
15 7 Oct 1984 Ford Dealers South Australian Open −2 (73-70-75-68=286) 1 stroke   Terry Gale
16 2 Mar 1986 Rich River Classic −17 (64-68-66-69=267) 8 strokes   Ian Stanley

PGA Tour of Australia playoff record (4–0)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1974 Coca-Cola Lakes Open   Ted Ball,   Paul Murray Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1974 Tasmanian Open   Ted Ball
3 1975 West Lakes Classic   Mike Cahill Won with par on third extra hole
4 1976 Chrysler Classic   Stewart Ginn Won with birdie on first extra hole

New Zealand Golf Circuit wins (2)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 21 Nov 1976 New Zealand Airlines Classic −21 (72-64-68-67=271) 9 strokes   Bill Brask,   John Lister
2 10 Dec 1978 New Zealand Open −3 (71-67-72-67=277) 1 stroke   Brian Barnes

Other Australasian wins (2)

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European Seniors Tour wins (4)

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No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 7 Jun 1998 Jersey Seniors Open −5 (71-73-67=211) 2 strokes   Tony Jacklin
2 31 May 1999 Philips PFA Golf Classic −12 (70-67-67=204) 1 stroke   Jim Delich,   Terry Gale
3 8 Aug 1999 Bad Ragaz PGA Seniors Open −12 (67-63-68=198) 3 strokes   David Oakley
4 9 Sep 2001 STC Bovis Lend Lease European Invitational −8 (70-71-67=208) 1 stroke   Noel Ratcliffe

European Senior Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 2000 Beko Classic   Brian Huggett Lost to par on first extra hole

Results in major championships

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Tournament 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
Masters Tournament T39 T35 WD
U.S. Open T16 CUT
The Open Championship T31 T59 T32 T21 T15 T7 CUT
PGA Championship T26
Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
Masters Tournament 48
U.S. Open T49 T50
The Open Championship T51 T42 CUT T35
PGA Championship WD T36
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

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Amateur

Professional

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "National amateur golf to "reject"". The Canberra Times. Vol. 43, no. 12405. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 1 September 1969. p. 14. Retrieved 26 November 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "Winds mar amateur golf title". The Canberra Times. Vol. 43, no. 12163. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 November 1968. p. 40. Retrieved 9 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ Stone, Peter (21 January 1971). "Shearer decides to join pro. ranks". The Age. p. 28. Retrieved 9 January 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Career Highlights". Shearer Golf Design. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Bob Shearer, Principal Designer". Shearer Golf Design. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Bob Shearer". Golf Major Championships.
  7. ^ "Bob Shearer passes away aged 73". PGA of Australia. 9 January 2022.
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