It’s nice to get a tournament off to a good start. Sometimes it’s a par to calm the nerves, rolling in an early birdie or a surprise eagle. On a completely different level, there’s the start that eventual champion Adam Wood had at the Indiana PGA Indianapolis Open sponsored by Golf Cars Plus-Yamaha and Advantage Golf at Purgatory G.C. in Noblesville. Wood’s first swing of the tournament found the cup for a hole-in-one albatross at the 361-yard par-4 opening hole that was measuring 339 yards across the dogleg. “It's surreal,” said Wood about the feeling he had in that moment. “I knew I hit a great drive but the thought of the ball going in never crossed my mind. We found the ball in the hole and it was an amazing feeling, but it felt as if my round hadn't started yet.”
So there Wood, the Senior-to-be at Duke University, stood on the second tee, 3-under through 1 hole. “It felt as if the second tee was the true beginning of my round,” said Wood. “At that point I knew I had gotten off to a great start, but my biggest concern was the score I was going to post for the final 17 holes. It was a matter of pride to make it so the ace wasn't the only positive of the round.”
Wood went on to card and opening round of 5-under-par 67, which put him in a four-way tie for the lead with Ivan Foster, Jeff Doty and Austin Crowder and placing him in the next to last group of the day. After a final round front nine that produced one birdie and one bogey, Wood had fallen out of that tie for the lead. “I knew that a couple players were ahead of me,” said Wood. “I'm a scoreboard watcher, I always want to know where I stand,” he continued. “I knew I had to make a few birdies, but I knew the way I was striking the ball that I would just have to make a couple putts.”
Wood did start to make some putts on the back nine with birdies on 13 and 16, which gave him a one-shot lead over rising Purdue University Sophomore Thomas Lewis who was playing alongside him. Lewis birdied the par-3 17th to square the lead, but Wood responded with a birdie on 18 for an 8-under-par 36-hole total and one stroke victory.
Wood, a former Indiana State Junior and Western Junior Champion, will have a limited Indiana Golf schedule this summer between national events and trips back to Duke to work with his coach. “Summer schedules are always tricky,” said Wood. “I have always tried to include Indiana events, but the Indianapolis Open was the only one I could fit into this busy summer.”
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