Chris Wood’s NSW Open victory may delay retirement plans

Chris Wood – every reason to smile – image credit Golf NSW

Brisbane golfer Chris Wood emerged from a four-hole playoff to win the Ford NSW Open at the Vintage Golf Club in the Hunter Valley, the 34-year-old claiming his second PGA Tour of Australasia title but, by some way, his most important.

Four years after his previous and only victory at this level, Wood holed a sliding 10-footer to edge out Victorian James Marchasani with Queensland’s Will Florimo, the first to be knocked out of the initial three-man playoff.

The playoff was played over the 18^th at the Greg Norman-designed Vintage Golf Club, three times with the pin position of today’s final round, and for the fourth and final time, the pin position was changed, an innovation that makes a lot of sense in such circumstances. It changes the hole but not the amphitheater.

The win takes Wood to a significant early lead in the 2005/2006 PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit and the winner’s cheque for $A140,000, no doubt his largest in the game, must go some way to convincing Wood that potential plans for tournament golf retirement could be shelved.

“Not necessarily, Wood told Golf NSW when asked about his earlier intentions of playing out the year and perhaps giving up his 13-year career as a professional were now completely out the window.  “I still wanted to play out this year really strong.”

“I knew that there was money to be made and obviously status to be gained, and having this thing in my hands now, I might sort of reassess things, but at the moment I’m just going to enjoy this.

“Enjoy the next couple of weeks, I didn’t have starts for the (Australian) PGA and Open. Now I do. So that obviously changes the next couple of weeks.”

The PGA Tour of Australasia now heads north to the Nudgee Golf Club in Brisbane for the Queensland PGA Championship, followed by the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland and the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

RESULTS