Wood steals O’meara’s thunder with eagle finish

Chris Wood admitted he was embarrassed to take the limelight from Mark O’meara by finishing his second round at the Open with a spectacular shot.

The 29-year-old Englishman holed his second from the middle of Royal Birkdale’s 18th fairway for an eagle that dramatically improved his position from five over to three over, all but guaranteeing weekend action.

It earned him a huge roar from the grandstands, but Wood accepted it only sheepishly as playing partner O’meara, the 1998 champion, was coming to the end of his final Open.

Wood, who made his Ryder Cup debut last year, said: “It was a great way to finish but it’s quite embarrassing to steal Mark O’meara’s thunder a little bit. I stole his and he sort of stole mine!

“But it was a pleasure to walk up the last with him. He is one of the nicest men I have met, and not just in golf. He was an absolute pleasure to play with, a great champion.”

Wood had thought a par at the last would be good enough to ensure he made the cut but his dramatic two, which saw him card 72 for the day, seemed to make it certain.

He said: “I actually had an identical shot as I hit yesterday so knew the sort of shot I needed. It was a little eight iron, 194 [yards] I think. As I soon as I hit it I thought it could be good. I was just looking to make 4 and scrape in for the weekend.”

For O’meara, whose triumph 19 years ago came over the same course, the occasion proved emotional. At the age of 60, the American’s exemption to continue playing in the event as a past champion has now expired.

After hitting the first shot of the championship out of bounds and carding an 11-over-par 81 on Thursday, he responded with a solid second-round 70 and walked away with tears in his eyes.

He said: “This is the greatest championship. I know there are three other majors but I believe the Open is the top of the list.”