Norman Wood (golfer)

Norman David Wood (8 January 1947 – 17 May 2023) was a Scottish professional golfer. He won the 1972 Italian Open and played in the 1975 Ryder Cup.

Norman Wood
Personal information
Full nameNorman David Wood
Born(1947-01-08)8 January 1947
Prestonpans, East Lothian, Scotland
Died17 May 2023(2023-05-17) (aged 76)
Guernsey, Channel Islands
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Sporting nationality Scotland
Career
Turned professional1965
Former tour(s)European Tour
European Seniors Tour
Professional wins5
Number of wins by tour
European Tour1
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentDNP
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open ChampionshipT40: 1975

Professional career

Wood turned professional in 1965 and was an assistant at Turnberry. He won the Scottish Assistants' Championship in 1968, beating David Webster in a playoff.[1]

Wood played on the European Tour in the 1970s. His sole win on the European Tour came at the 1972 Italian Open where he beat Brian Huggett by two strokes.[2] He also played outside of Europe during the off-season, winning the Jamaica Open in December 1973.[3] In March 1973 he lost to Ben Arda in a playoff for the Singapore Open and at the 1974 Australian Open he was runner-up to Gary Player.[4][5]

In 1975 Wood finished a career-best 18th on the Order of Merit and played in the Ryder Cup. Wood had a good start to the season, finishing joint runner-up in the Madrid Open, an event reduced to 36 holes by bad weather.[6] He was also sixth in the Portuguese Open and the French Open and 14th in the Penfold PGA Championship. The good results at the start of the season put Wood in the top eight of the Ryder Cup points to gain an automatic place in team.[7] The 1975 Ryder Cup was held at Laurel Valley Golf Club in September. Wood lost his two pairs matches but defeated Lee Trevino 2&1 in his singles match. In 1975 Wood also lost to David Huish in a playoff for the Scottish Professional Championship and made his one appearance for Scotland in the World Cup that year, playing with Brian Barnes, after Bernard Gallacher withdrew.[8][9][10]

In May 1976 Wood, playing with Maurice Bembridge, lost in a playoff for the Sumrie-Bournemouth Better-Ball. Wood and Bembridge held a 5 stroke lead after 54 holes but were caught by Eamonn Darcy and Christy O'Connor Jnr who had a final round 62. Darcy and O'Connor won the playoff at the third extra hole after Darcy holed a 40-foot putt.[11] After 1976 Wood's performances dropped off and he played less on the European Tour.

Back problems forced Wood to become a club professional. He worked at the Sandy Lane resort in Barbados starting in 1978 and the Royal Guernsey Golf Club in Guernsey from 1982 until retiring at the end of 2007.[10][12]

After turning 50, Wood played part-time on the European Seniors Tour for several seasons from 1997 to 2006. His best result was to finish in solo third place in the 1997 Manadens Affarer Seniors Open in Sweden.

Death

Wood died in Guernsey on 17 May 2023 at the age of 76.[13][14][15]

Professional wins (5)

European Tour wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin of
victory		Runner-up
1 15 Oct 1972 Italian Open −1 (65-69-68-69=271) 2 strokes Wales Brian Huggett

Other wins (4)

Results in major championships
Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
The Open Championship T50 CUT T50 CUT T54 T40 CUT CUT

Note: Wood only played in The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied

Source:[17]

Team appearances

References
  1. "Assistants' Title for Wood". The Glasgow Herald. 17 October 1968. p. 7.
  2. "Wood wins in Italian Open". The Evening Times. 16 October 1972. p. 19.
  3. "Wood wins in Jamaica". The Glasgow Herald. 11 December 1973. p. 4.
  4. "Evergreen Arda wins Open by 'sudden death'". The Straits Times. 12 March 1973. p. 29.
  5. "Norman Wood second in Australia". The Glasgow Herald. 4 November 1974. p. 4.
  6. "Wood joint second". The Glasgow Herald. 28 April 1975. p. 20.
  7. "Norman Wood gains Ryder Cup place". The Glasgow Herald. 18 August 1974. p. 15.
  8. "Huish wins title after play-off". The Glasgow Herald. 2 June 1975. p. 17.
  9. "Wood in World Cup side". The Glasgow Herald. 7 November 1975. p. 29.
  10. Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. pp. 312–3. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
  11. "Irish snatch Sumrie prize". The Glasgow Herald. 24 May 1976. p. 15.
  12. "Fresh and exciting times for new head pro Douglas". Guernsey Press. 29 February 2008.
  13. Dempster, Martin (19 May 2023). "Norman Wood, Scot who beat Lee Trevino in Ryder Cup, passes away". The Scotsman.
  14. "Norman Wood (1947 – 2023)". The PGA. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  15. "Wood, Norman (David)". The Guernsey Press. 20 May 2023.
  16. Jacobs, Raymond (24 August 1970). "Wood now aims at headier brew". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 21 April 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  17. Brenner, Morgan G. (2009). The Majors of Golf: Complete Results of the Open, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and the Masters, 1860-2008. Vol. 1. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-3360-5.
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