Nervy Wood seals the deal to leap into Ryder reckoning
Anear perfect week at Wentworth drew to a suitably rousing conclusion yesterday when Chris Wood won the BMW PGa Championship to claim another leading prize for this gilded generation of english golfers.
The 28-year-old from Bristol could not cope with the pressure when he led this championship going into the final round in 2010 and suffered another agonising attack of nerves on the back nine this time. But the tallest man in professional golf at 6ft 7in held on for a victory that will elevate his career to the heights.
and so after the British Masters success for Matt Fitzpatrick at Woburn last September and the US Masters win last month for Danny
victory Willett for at one augustaof the we nicest have pros thisin s the game; one that has lifted d the gentle giant to third place in n qualifying for europe’s ryder Cup side and seen him plant one foot on n the plane for Hazeltine.
no country has supplied half the e team since europe joined the party y in 1979 but there is every possibility y england could do so this September.r Wood, Willett, Fitzpatrick, Justin rose, andy Sullivan, Lee Westwood — and still we have not reached d fringe candidates like Luke Donald d and Ian Poulter.
Wood’s face was bathed with relief f when he finally stumbled over thee finish line. He had played for a parr five at the 18th but still had to hole a two-footer to achieve his goal. as he said: ‘It was one of those.’
But he negotiated it and took one last look at the giant leaderboard before the realisation of winning hit home.
‘I used to come here to watch this event as a kid and so it’s one I’ve always wanted to win,’ he said. ‘I’ve had some high finishes but to get the victory and in front of this crowd with my fiancee present, my family and so many of my friends, I’m not sure it gets any better.’
any number of players began the day with ith a chanceh of f victory,it and d little- known Swede rikard Karlberg showed what was possible with a seven-under-par 65 that included a hole in one at the second to set a clubhouse target of eight under. Wood followed his lead with a birdie at the first and then an eagle at the fourth that, in his own words, ‘ really got my round going’. He followed it with three more birdies to match Willett’s feat on Friday and reach the turn in a blistering 29 shots. again like Willett, a bogey at the
1 10th heralded a rather different kindk of nine holes. although a birdie at the 11th took him to 12 under and seemingly out of sight, the nerves were beginning to set in. at the 14th he three putted and then came up short at the 16th to drop another stroke.
a wonderful drive down the par-five 17th ought to have been a comforter but his second shot was tugged and he needed four more to complete the hole. now he had to par the last to beat Karlberg’s total.
The nervousness was apparent in the crowd, let alone the player. another striped drive down the . last brought the green comfortably into play but also a bogey if he went for it, since a burn lurks menacingly on the left. Taking the advice of his caddie, Wood laid up to sensibly play for the five to sneak home.
Wood first came to prominence in 2008 when he finished fifth as an amateur at The Open at Birkdale and followed that up at Turnberry in 2009 with a top-three placing. Given his height, it is perhaps not surprising his career stalled owing to a number of injuries, most notably to his back, but those are firmly behind him now.
Making Britain’s Olympic team is alsoals now a possibility, although it wouldw mean the postponement of his stag do planned for that week. elsewhere, the final day was a disappointing one for Lee Westwood, who shot 76, while it is a measure of Willett’s s standing these days that he s still finished third despite not beingb close to his best at the weekend.w MostM manic celebration of the day? actually, that belonged not to the winner but another englishman,engl James Morrison. Twelve months after Wood won a £130,000 BMW i8 for a hole in one at the 14th, Morrison emulated the feat to spark off wild scenes of joy with his playing partner, Sullivan. It ended with Morrison giving Sullivan a giddy piggyback ride to the apron of the green.
It all contributed to a memorable week played in sublime weather that helped swell the numbers who descended on Wentworth to 130,000 people.
The carnival atmosphere surely concentrated minds to making sure Wentworth remains the permanent home. The only negative was the absence of some leading names but with newly laid greens for next year and some course changes, I have a feeling rory McIlroy and a number of others will return.
Quite honestly, this isn’t a party any european golfer should want to miss.