Chris Wood has set his sights on a coveted place inside the world’s top 50 golfers as he eyes up spots in the global game’s most prestigious tournaments.
The 25-year-old Englishman claimed his first-ever European Tour victory at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club last Saturday, when his 18-under par score secured a one-stroke success.That inaugural triumph on the continental circuit took Wood up to 60th in the world rankings and he now wants to continue that encouraging momentum at this week’s OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic and beyond.
“The top 50 in the world is where every player is trying to get to,” said the Bristol-born 25-year-old.“I’m not far off that, so if I can reach it before the start of April, that would be quite nice.“I’m right on the edge of getting into the majors now. We have a good field this week, so there are more ranking points available.“I’m in the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in a couple of weeks’ time at the moment, so — if I do well here — I can secure my place in that and relax. I want to be getting into these big events.”
One particular competition out of the famous four annually would carry an extra special significance for Wood as well, with the unassuming pro adding: “The Masters is the one that everyone watches.“I’ve probably watched the Masters since I was about five years old and then coming all the way up through junior golf.It’s the first major of the season and then there’s everything about Augusta. It’s the one that everyone wants to play in.
“The Masters is on the horizon, so the first thing for me will be to try get into that.”Wood stands every chance of doing exactly that too if he can channel and harness the newfound confidence from beating a childhood idol five days ago.“I know I can win now on the European Tour, so I’ll go into every tournament with that result behind me,” he said.
“When I was a junior, I used to keep a notebook. I took notes of every lesson and had stickers of two players stuck in the back of the book — one was Tiger (Woods) and the other was (Sergio) Garcia.“I remember watching Sergio on the putting green at the Ryder Cup at the Belfry in 2002 and I was kind of hoping that I could be like that one day, so to beat him by one last week was pretty satisfying! “With the form I’m in, I can compete in the majors and the World Golf Championships.” – KahleejNews
