After a four hour rain delay with standing water on the
greens at Morris Park Country Club, the final round of the Senior Open was
cancelled for the second time in three years. But the winner had yet to be
determined, so Randy Nichols, Tom Wood and Ron Carter teed it up at the sixth
tee – the driest hole on the course – to battle for the win. Rounds of 70
earned these three amateurs a spot in the playoff. Once again the strength of
Indiana’s senior amateurs was displayed.
During the first time down the sixth hole in the rain,
Carter took himself out of the running with a bogey. He drove it into the
rough, then missed his approach right leaving himself a 20-yard shot over a
bunker with little green to work with. Wood appeared to have the advantage
after his approach landed 10 feet from the pin. But Nichols was able to up and
down from the left green-side bunker for par, and Wood lipped his putt out and
tapped in for a par. “I really thought I had made that putt,” Wood said. He and Nichols went back to the sixth tee.
The second try they both made par again after converting
up-and-downs from the short left side of the green. On the third attempt to put
an end to the cold, rainy day, Wood stuck his approach to four feet, while
Nichols barely caught the right edge of the green. Nichols’ two-putt wasn’t
good enough to keep the competition going, and Wood took home his first IGA-PGA
title.
“It was just driver, 7-iron, driver, 7-iron, over and over,”
Wood said. “I told myself to just hit good shots, you’ve done this before.” His
repetition and consistency paid off, and he earned the respect of fellow
seniors in the state known for competing at a high level.
After turning 50 last January, Wood became eligible for the
Senior Open being held at his home course, Pine Valley. He has won four club
championships and a senior club championship at Pine Valley, so he has proved
himself to his Fort Wayne competitors, but he sought to test himself on a
state-wide level. At the IGA Mid Am Team April 25-26, Wood found success when he
and his partner Josh Neal fired a 67 the first day in alternate shot. As for
seeing him the rest of the season, “I’ll have to take another look at the
schedule now,” he concluded with a smile.
Full results here