Chris Wood interview

There will be lot of interest in you at the Open this year after your great finishes at both Birkdale and Turnberry. What are your expectations for St Andrews this July?
I can’t wait for it. The Open takes over the whole town and there will be an incredible atmosphere. I think it will be slightly different to the two Opens I’ve played in so far, with the cross-overs and the double greens. At Turnberry and Birkdale, anywhere on the green with your second shot was good. But at St Andrews the greens can be so big, and with the wind blowing across them it can be tough to two-putt. There’s going to be a lot more premium on getting the ball closer to the hole rather than settling for two putts from 30 feet. But overall, the scoring should be bit lower than Turnberry and Birkdale where par was good.

How well do you know the Old Course?
I played the St Andrews Links Trophy there a few times as an amateur, and the Dunhill Links a couple of times. I know it well enough – but I’ll certainly have a few more practice rounds.

You were just one shot out of the playoff at Turnberry. What are your memories looking back on it?
I felt like I took the course apart on the last day and didn’t hit a bad shot. A 67 was the worst I could have expected. But it just wasn’t meant to be. A lot of people have said to me “shame about the bogey on the last...”! At the Accenture Match Play in Arizona, Stewart Cink’s locker was near mine so I bumped into him quite a lot. I thought “He’s Open Champion. That could have been me!”

That final 9-iron which went through the back of the 18th green and cost you the vital shot, travelled some 230 yards.
It was a combination of a flyer, adrenaline and the fact that it pitched firmly on the green. I hit it great and right on line but it went into the long rough and I didn’t have much of a shot back. As soon as I missed the putt I knew straight away that my chance had gone.

But a great learning curve for someone in their rookie year?
It was probably one of the most high pressure situations you can get in golf and it’s opened a lot of doors for me. It got me into the Masters which has been another massive experience which other rookies won’t get. Things like that can only be good for me. I’m only in my second year but I feel like I’ve got so much experience already. I’ve already played in four majors. It’s all happened very quickly. Two years ago I was preparing for the Spanish Amateur!

You’ve achieved all your 2009 goals of finishing in the top 10 at the Open, getting into the top 100 in the world, and making the field for the Dubai World Championship. What are your latest goals?
All I’m looking for now is to start winning tournaments. There are a still a lot of weaknesses in my game and areas where I feel I can improve. When I’ve ironed those out I feel I will really start to give myself chances to win. I’ve finished two or three shots off the lead in a few tournaments now and felt that I’ve not really played great. So I’m not far off.

You missed the cut at The Masters but what did you take from the experience?
The Masters shows up any part of your game that’s off – in fact it magnifies it 10 times. It’s a great learning curve and I took two weeks off after that to discuss in detail with my coach and caddie what areas I particularly need to improve. Distance control in the short irons was one area. For a 140-yard shot I’m now learning to play a more controlled 8-iron rather than, say, a full 9. I want to be able to give myself 10-15 foot putts for birdie more consistently. When you can play like that it’s almost stress-free golf!

First impressions of Augusta itself?
The greens were something I had never experienced before. They are hard to describe. Just getting on the green is not good enough because the slopes are so severe. Each green often has four areas that are like small greens in themselves and you’ve got understand each section to give yourself a chance of getting close and holing the putt.

You played both rounds with Larry Mize – anything you learned from the past champion?
It was out driving Larry by about 40 yards on most holes and he was taking a long iron or Rescue club for his second shots whereas I’d only have a six iron. But he was getting on to the greens in all the right places. He just looked so comfortable on the greens whereas some of my putts did completely the opposite of what I thought. I was struggling and made lots of notes all the way round. But, then again, I saw Phil Mickelson miss a putt on the weekend and he looked confused and was writing notes in his planner – so I guess you’re still learning even when you’ve been there 10 or 15 times. You probably never stop learning at Augusta.

You are in Chubby Chandler’s ISM stable where there must be a particular buzz after the performances in recent months?
There’s probably no better time to be an ISM player. Chubby seems to attract the right players and they’ve all been playing well this season. Charl Schwartzel won in South Africa and did well in the World Golf Championship; Lee did well at the Masters and Rory won in the US. Then there’s players like me, Ross McGowan and Dave Horsey who are starting to find our feet and work our way up. I think it’s just going to get better and better.

This is your first season as a Mizuno player. How has been the transition to playing a new set of clubs?
It was quite easy. They are great, traditional looking clubs. Everyone appreciates a Mizuno iron. I play the MP68 irons for most of the set, which are blades which sit great and give me a great feel. Straight away I was hitting them half a club further and I can work the ball with them. For the 3 and 4 irons, I play the MP62s which have a slight cavity and are a bit easier to hit. There’s a bit more weight lower in the back of the club to get the ball up in the air – which is reassuring when you’ve got a long carry over water.

According to the European Tour performance stats, your driving distance is up considerably in recent months.
It’s partly down to the Mizuno MP- 630 driver which I’ve been using since the week before the Masters. I was testing it on the TrackMan launch monitor and I was hitting it consistently eight to 10 yards further. I’ve now got used to it out on the course, and it’s the best I’ve ever been driving the ball.

At 6ft 5 inches tall do you have any special equipment requirements?
My shafts are an inch longer than standard and the lie angle is three degrees upright. Apart from that, FootJoy custom build my shoes which are size 11 extra narrow. My girlfriend designed a pair of shoes for me recently on the MyJoys website where you can choose all your own colours and graphics. You can put your name on them if you want, and have a bit of fun with it.

Main interests away from golf?
Football, cars and music. I’m a Man United fan. They didn’t seem to play that well for much of the season but still nearly won the league again. They probably need another striker for next season. I’m not a big fan of Berbatov, but then Ferguson always seems to get players to come good within a few seasons. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to following England at the World Cup.

It’s still early days, but any thoughts of playing in the Ryder Cup?
It would be amazing to play in the Ryder Cup but there are probably 40 players who have got that in the back of their minds. At the moment I’m not seeing myself as one of the top 12 in Europe. The team looks so strong already. Of course, a big win could change all that…