England’s Chris Wood claimed the biggest win of his career by winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth after shooting a final round 69. The 28-year-old won his third European Tour event by one stroke over Rikard Karlberg who shot a 65 to end in second on his own.
The 2015 Lyoness Open champion seemed to be coasting to victory after an excellent front nine. The Bristol-born golfer collected four birdies as well as an eagle on the par-five fourth to go out in 29 strokes.
The back nine started in shaky fashion for Wood as he bogeyed the 10th, but fortunately picked the shot back up at the 11th. The birdie at the 11th would prove to be as good as it got for the Englishman as it all went downhill from then on.
While Wood was still out on the back nine,Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg shot the round of the day 65 to post the clubhouse lead at eight-under-par. The slide for Wood began at the 14th with a bogey. He followed this up with a par at the 15th, but showed that nerves may be getting the better of him, when he bogeyed the 16th and 17th. The consecutive bogeys left the world number 54 at nine-under-par needing a par on the last hole to secure the title.
In front of a expectant home crowd, Wood held his nerve to secure the victory by parring the last and become the first Englishman since 2012 to claim the Wentworth crown.
A strong showing at Wentworth Club by South African golfers saw Jaco van Zyl and Thomas Aiken record top-10 finishes.
