Miracle Rebound Puts Wood in Wonderland

David Wood will never forget the way he won the recent Foremost Championship, after he saw his overhit approach at the 18th hit a scoreboard and bounce straight into the hole for an eagle, to help him win by one!

Playing at the MacDonald Portal Hotel and Golf Club in Cheshire, Wood’s victory was so bizarre that it might have come straight out of the script of the Happy Gilmore.

The Head Professional at St Cleres Hall Golf Club in Essex came to the 18th hole at Portal needing a birdie three to tie clubhouse leaders Nick Ludwell (Selby) and Nick Horrocks (Staddon Heights) and got the first part of the job done when he hit his drive straight down the middle of the fairway.

However his 4-iron approach bounded through the green and looked destined for trouble before it rebounded off a scoreboard and bounced back into the hole for a winning eagle two. 

Wood’s wonder shot gave him a two-under-par 71 and a one-stroke advantage over Ludwell and Horrocks, but he still faced a nervy wait as Walmley Golf Club’s Steve Carter had a long putt for birdie to take the event to a playoff.

For a long time it looked like Carter’s putt might drop but it stayed above ground to confirm Wood’s victory and to consign Carter to share of second place with Ludwell and Horrocks on one-under-par 72.

“It was an incredible way to win the tournament,” conceded Wood, whose victory was worth £1000. “Like a lot of club pros I haven’t played a lot of golf this season so my main goal was just to try to get into the Ashworth Cup team.

“I wasn’t aware of the exact situation but I knew a couple of players were under-par because I could see a couple of red numbers on the leaderboard so I decided to go for the shot in case I had a chance.

“I had 175-yards uphill and into the wind. My first thought was to hit 5-iron but I went with the 4 to make sure I got it up onto top tier of the green and just hit it a little bit too well.

“I couldn’t see exactly what happened but I heard a loud crash when the ball hit the leaderboard and then realised the group of people around the green were clapping.

“It was a huge break for me but I’m quite happy to take it because we all get more than our fair share of bad breaks as well.”