Wood looking to build on last year's top-5 finish at Birkdale
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During the third round of the Open last summer Chris Wood received a text from his sister who was on holiday in Prague.
"Are you still at that golf thingy?" she asked, unaware that her 20-year-old then-amateur brother had not only made the cut, but was mixing it with the likes of Padraig Harrington, Greg Norman and Jim Furyk at the top of the leaderboard.
He may not have won the claret jug the next day but he did tie for fifth to clinch the silver medal and an enhanced reputation from which he was able to launch his professional career.
Soon after Royal Birkdale he signed up to International Sports Management and the guidance of Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, although the hard work was only just beginning as Tour School beckoned to guarantee his card for 2009.
He came through that test to ensure his inclusion in the inaugural Race to Dubai, and this season has been producing some encouraging results to head into this year's championship at Turnberry on a high.
The 6ft 5in former Bristol City Football Club trainee tied for 16th at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in December, then came sixth at the South African Open, two shots behind winner Richard Sterne.
A 10th-place finish at the Irish Open followed, then joint fifth at the European Open at the London Club, before another 10th place at the Celtic Manor Wales Open earlier this month. And Wood is confident a maiden win is not far away.
Comfortable
"I'm really feeling comfortable with where I find myself now," he said. "It's taken me a while to get going this season.
"Coming through Tour School I didn't get into that many events and those I did I was practising in snow and ice at home and then going out to Indonesia or wherever.
"I wasn't so at ease in the Far East but I've really started playing some good golf now and that is all down to the fact that I'm enjoying myself. But I'm still learning and working hard at my game and I know that I can improve on what I've already achieved.
"I really just want to start winning tournaments now. It helps because I'm competing well in tournaments and making the cut, which makes a hell of a difference to your confidence."
Amazing experience
Unknown before last summer, Wood will experience a whole new level of pressure this year as Britain hopes for another home winner
"It was just an amazing experience," Wood said of the 2008 Open. "I knew I was capable of finishing as high as I did and it was a great week.
"My record is pretty good at the majors - I've only played in one, but I was a contender and that gave me a hell of a lot of confidence knowing that I could compete with these guys.
"So my ambition is to start by winning my first tournament . I feel that I've come close and doing so by not playing my best golf. So when I put it all together I'm sure I can win."
Although he plays tournaments around the globe, Wood is a home boy at heart and is still living with his parents until he has time to find a place of his own.
"I will definitely be staying in Bristol - I love the place and I don't want to live anywhere else. It's just finding the time to do all the things you have to do and I just don't have that time now and it will have to wait," he added.
