Wentworth. England’s Chris Wood kept his nerve when
the pressure was at its most intense to land his biggest victory as a
professional at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Wood had a
final round of 69 for a nine-under-par total of 279 and victory by one
stroke over Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, who had a best of the day 65
that included a hole in one at the 2nd, and two over Danny Willett,
the Masters champion. “I’ve always wanted to win a BMW tournament and
now I’ve done it,” a delighted Wood said. “BMW always put on great
events for us and this was one of them.”
Dr Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales
and Marketing BMW, said: “Our congratulations go very strongly to our
new BMW PGA champion, Chris Wood. I had the pleasure of giving Chris
the hole in one prize of a BMW i8 last year, so I think there is a
lucky streak in there for BMW tournaments. Long may it continue.
“It is our honour and our privilege to be the title sponsor for the
twelfth year of this flagship tournament and BMW will continue to
support the championship. As we move forward towards 2017 it will get
better and better.”
The 28-year-old Wood – at two metres, one of the tallest players on
the European Tour – threw down the gauntlet from the off on a warm,
sun-kissed day at Wentworth. He started his round three strokes behind
Scott Hend, the overnight leader, but led the field by three after a
stunning record-equalling outward nine of 29 on the West Course. It
was made up of four birdies, an eagle, and four pars.
At the turn, Wood went from hunter to hunted as his rivals attempted
to chase him down. It was by no means plain sailing for the champion.
After dropping shots at four of the next eight holes, and picking up a
solitary birdie at the 11th, he arrived at the par-five 18th needing a
par to guarantee victory. He played safe, wrapped up his par, and
strolled away with a first prize of €833,330, his most lucrative win
as a professional.
This was Wood’s third victory on the European Tour. It earned him
playing rights until 2021, a place in the Open Championship for the
next three years, and virtually sealed his place in the Europe team
for this year’s Ryder Cup match in the United States, for which BMW
are official partners.
Willett, the pre-tournament favourite, found it difficult to score
well over the weekend but still managed to finish third after a final
round of 71. The world No9 felt this was a championship he let get
away, so will be determined to make up for his disappointment in
Cologne next month, when he will attempt to add a second BMW
International Open crown to the one he scooped in 2012. It will not be
easy: among those challenging him will be Henrik Stenson and Sergio García.
All the players in the field were casting covetous glances towards
the magnificent BMW i8 Protonic Red Edition up for grabs for a hole in
one at the par-three 14th, but it was England’s James Morrison who had
the extreme good fortune to drive away with the €170,000 hybrid supercar.
The Englishman was not in the best of moods when he arrived at the
hole, after dropping two shots at the 13th, but his frame of mind was
soon to change beyond recognition. And no wonder.
After playing a five-iron in tricky wind to an uphill pin position
170 metres away, Morrison at first thought he had hit the ball too
far. But when the cheers from the fans surrounding the green signalled
the good news, his jump for joy was something to behold. His ball had
landed on the green, bounced twice and dived into the hole. “It’s
crazy. I went from making double-bogey to hitting the best shot I’ve
hit all week,” he said. “It was a great feeling when it went in.”
Some players go their whole career without landing a hole-in-one
prize but this was Morrison’s second in four years, his i8 being added
to a BMW 6-series Gran Coupe he won at the 2012 Irish Open. In the
second round Scotland’s Scott Jamieson won a BMW M2 for an ace at the 10th.