England’s Chris Wood finished eight shots behind eventual champion Byeong-hun An in fourth place at the BMW PGA Championship, but he walked away with a prize even more gleaming than the winner’s trophy – a €140,680 (Dh568,450) BMW i8 car for making a hole-in-one yesterday.
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Wood (66) aced the 14th hole, a record fifth hole-in-one of the week, but the first on the hole that offered the latest BMW model.
Wood holed out with a seven-iron from 178 yards, prompting exuberant celebrations which ended with the 6ft 6in Bristolian taking advantage of the car’s gull-wing doors being open to try it out for size.
Hole in one! @Chris3Wood wins a BMW i8! http://t.co/4yKbyJECNE
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 24, 2015
“I just about fit in there,” Wood joked. “Last night at the hotel I bumped into Miguel (who had the 10th hole-in-one of his career on Saturday) and I said, ‘Another hole=in-one, when is it my turn?’
“All the players look on the 14th on Tuesday when we have a practice round and we think, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice, a BMW i8?’ You never think that it’s going to happen to you.
“I hit a great shot and it was a bit of a delayed reaction because you hear two cheers; one sounded like it just missed and the second one it went in.”
Wood, who spent five months on the sidelines due to a broken bone in his wrist suffered when he fell over during a tennis lesson in October, added: “It was a long winter at home and you do worry whether you’re going to come back to the player you were, but to finish top five in a marquee event here at Wentworth is a big boost in confidence.”
Hear from @Chris3Wood as he talked us through his memorable hole in one and of course, his new BMW i8! https://t.co/Y2TaL138WJ
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 24, 2015
South Africa’s Trevor Fisher Junior made the other hole-in-one of the day when his tee shot found its way into the cup on the second hole, where Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez had hit his second in as many weeks on Saturday.
Wood’s 66 was the day’s second best round after An’s 65, and matched the effort earlier in the day from Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke.
Clarke was delighted with the round, especially as it came on the eve of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, his home tournament.
“It’s been coming but it’s the first time I’ve taken it on to the course from the practice range,” said the 46-year-old Northern Irishman.
