Alison Sheard

{{short description|South African professional golfer}} {{use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox golfer | name = Alison Sheard | image = | image_size =  | caption = | full_name = | nickname = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|9|21|df=y}} | birth_place = Durban, South Africa | death_date =  | death_place = | height =  | weight = | nationality = {{ZAF}} | residence = | spouse = | partner = | children = | college = | yearpro = 1976 | tour =  | extour = Ladies European Tour<br>LPGA Tour | prowins = 4 | letwins = 4 | jlpgawins =  | klpgawins =  | lagtwins =  | alpgwins =  | futwins =  | otherwins =  | majorwins =  | anainspiration =  | lpga = T19: 1980 | wusopen = T23: 1980 | dumaurier = T10: 1981 | wghofid =  | wghofyear =  | award1 =  | year1 =  | award2 = | year2 = | awardssection =  }} '''Alison Sheard''' (born 21 September 1951) is a South African professional golfer who played on the Ladies European Tour (LET) and LPGA Tour. At Golf RSA events held during the 1970s, Sheard won the SA Women's Stroke Play five times and the SA Women's Amateur three times. As an amateur golfer, Sherard was second at the 1974 Espirito Santo Trophy with the South African team. At individual events, she was second at the 1976 British Ladies Amateur.

As a professional golfer, Sheard won four LET events between 1979 and 1985. At the 1979 Women's British Open, she was "the first overseas winner of the Championship".<ref name="LPGA">{{cite web |title=RICOH Women's British Open Championship History |url=https://www.lpga.com/news/british-history |publisher=LPGA |accessdate=16 November 2019 |date=30 August 2012 |archive-date=16 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116213051/https://www.lpga.com/news/british-history |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sheard was the only Women's British Open champion from South Africa until Ashleigh Buhai's 2022 victory. In other events, Sheard was tied for 19th at the 1980 LPGA Championship, tied for 23rd at the 1980 U.S. Women's Open and 10th at the 1981 Peter Jackson Classic. During 2010, she joined the Southern Africa Golf Hall of Fame.

==Amateur career== Sheard was born on 21 September 1951 in Durban, South Africa.<ref>{{cite web |title=Famous golfers - S |url=http://www.womengolfersmuseum.com/Famousgolfers/S.htm |publisher=Women Golfer's Museum |accessdate=16 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kaskie |first1=Shirli |title=A woman's golf game |date=1982 |publisher=Contemporary Books, Inc. |location=Chicago |isbn=0809257572 |page=12 |url=https://archive.org/details/womansgolfgame00kask/page/12}}</ref> At Souuh African golf events held by Golf RSA, Sheard won the SA Women's Stroke Play five times from 1974 to 1979.<ref>{{cite web |title=SA Women's Stroke Play |url=https://www.golfrsa.com/sa-womens-stroke-play/ |website=Golf RSA |access-date=March 16, 2022}}</ref> She also won the SA Women's Amateur back-to-back from 1976 to 1978.<ref>{{cite web |title=SA Women's Amateur |url=https://www.golfrsa.com/sa-womens-amateur/ |website=Golf RSA |access-date=March 16, 2022}}</ref> Outside of South Africa, Sheard was runner-up at the 1976 British Ladies Amateur.<ref name=whoswho>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Alliss |first=Peter |title=Sheard, Alison Irene |encyclopedia=The who's who of golf |year=1983 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey |page=355 |isbn=0139584978 |url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoofgolf00alli/page/354 |access-date=16 November 2019}}</ref> In team events, Sheard was part of the silver medal-winning South African team at the 1974 Espirito Santo Trophy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Women's Records |url=https://www.igfgolf.org/watc/womens-records/ |publisher=International Golf Federation |accessdate=16 November 2019 |archive-date=21 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421224112/https://www.igfgolf.org/watc/womens-records/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Professional career== In late 1976, Sheard became a professional golfer and played throughout Europe.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Geisler |first1=Greg |title=Sheard enjoys St. Francis meet |newspaper=The La Crosse Tribune |date=7 August 1984 |page=17}}</ref> Her first wins on the Ladies European Tour were at the Carlsberg and McEwans Welsh Classic tournaments in 1979. That year, Sheard was the leading money winner for the 1979 LET season.<ref name=winners>{{cite web |title=Past Tournament Winners - 1979 - 2012 |url=http://www.golftoday.co.uk/ladies_golf/stats/past-tournament-winners.html |website=Golf Today |accessdate=16 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211161608/http://www.golftoday.co.uk/ladies_golf/stats/past-tournament-winners.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=11 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics 1979-2011 |url=http://golftoday.co.uk/ladies_golf/stats/stats_1979-now.html |website=Golf Today |accessdate=16 November 2019 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605202942/http://golftoday.co.uk/ladies_golf/stats/stats_1979-now.html |archivedate=5 June 2016}}</ref> In 1980, Sheard joined the LPGA Tour. Between 1980 and 1983, her best performance at the LPGA was a seventh place tie at the 1983 West Virginia LPGA Classic.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Markus |first1=Don |title=Life in the rough: The have and have-nots of golf |newspaper=The Record |location=Hackensack, New Jersey |date=11 July 1983 |pages=S10–S11}}</ref> A few years later, Sheard won an additional LET tournament at the 1985 Spanish Open.<ref name=winners/><ref>{{cite news |title=Golf: Sheard's 61 sets the pace |work=The Times (London, England) |date=23 July 1987}}</ref>

In major championships, Sheard won the 1979 Women's British Open before it was designated as a major championship in 2001. She was "the first overseas winner of the Championship".<ref name="LPGA"/> In later British Opens, she finished 9th at the 1982 edition and tied for 12th at the 1986 edition.<ref>{{cite news |title=Golf results |newspaper=Auburn Journal |date=1 August 1982 |page=D14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kahn |first1=Liz |title=The big hitter strikes it rich |newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 October 1986 |page=29}}</ref> She remained the only Women's British Open champion from South Africa until Ashleigh Buhai's victory in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bantock |first1=Jack |title=Women's British Open: Ashleigh Buhai rallies from late collapse to win first major title in playoff |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/08/golf/womens-british-open-ashleigh-buhai-win-spt-intl/index.html |access-date=9 December 2023 |work=CNN |date=8 August 2022}}</ref> In Canada, she competed at the 1981 Peter Jackson Classic and was tied for 10th place with Jo Ann Washam.<ref>{{cite web |title=2015 Canadian Pacific Women's Open Media Guide |url=https://golfcanada.ca/app/uploads/2015/08/CPWO-2015-Media-Guide-FINAL-low1.pdf |publisher=Golf Canada |accessdate=16 November 2019 |pages=43–47 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122185607/https://golfcanada.ca/app/uploads/2015/08/CPWO-2015-Media-Guide-FINAL-low1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In the United States, Sheard was tied for 19th at the 1980 LPGA Championship and tied for 23rd at the 1980 U.S. Women's Open.<ref>{{cite news |title=LPGA Championship |work=The Arizona Republic |date=June 9, 1980 |page=C5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Women's Open |newspaper=Dover Times Reporter |date=14 July 1980 |page=C3}}</ref> Sheard was inducted into the Southern Africa Golf Hall of Fame in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alison Sheard |url=http://www.golfhalloffame.co.za/inductees/inductee_2010_AlisonSheard.asp |publisher=Southern Africa Golf Hall of Fame |accessdate=16 November 2019 |archive-date=16 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116203002/http://www.golfhalloffame.co.za/inductees/inductee_2010_AlisonSheard.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Ladies European Tour wins (4)== *1979 (3) Carlsberg Championship – Sand Moor, Pretty Polly Women's British Open, McEwan's Welsh Classic *1985 (1) La Manga Spanish Open ''Note: Sheard won the Women's British Open once before it was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour in 1994, and recognized as a major championship on the LPGA Tour in 2001''

==Team appearances== '''Amateur''' *Espirito Santo Trophy (representing South Africa): 1974, 1976<ref>{{cite web|title=Record Book 1974 World Amateur Golf Team Championships|url=https://gsites.brightspotcdn.com/fd/a2/aa2bf0afa655c30747a48d63073b/1974-wagtc.pdf|accessdate=2 January 2021|publisher=World Amateur Golf Council|archive-date=19 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119193953/https://gsites.brightspotcdn.com/fd/a2/aa2bf0afa655c30747a48d63073b/1974-wagtc.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Record Book 1976 World Amateur Golf Team Championships|url=https://gsites.brightspotcdn.com/b1/16/e8ccb0422f65ead8fe7de823ca17/1976-wagtc.pdf|accessdate=4 January 2021|publisher=World Amateur Golf Council|archive-date=22 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122092947/https://gsites.brightspotcdn.com/b1/16/e8ccb0422f65ead8fe7de823ca17/1976-wagtc.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheard, Alison}} Category:South African female golfers Category:Ladies European Tour golfers Category:LPGA Tour golfers Category:Golfers from Durban Category:1951 births Category:Living people