Almost 20 years since he joined as a pre-junior, Wood applied all that home-course knowledge to perfection on Monday, finishing one-stroke clear of Gold Coaster Dillon Hart with a round of 7-under 62.

After missing the cut at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, Wood would have been forgiven for heading to Sydney early to prepare for the Australian Open but was always ging to honour his commitment to the club that made him an honorary member in 2012.

“It was a pretty easy decision,” Wood said.

“Being a Wynnum boy, I wanted to come back and represent the club and see a lot of familiar faces.

“It was definitely the right decision to make at the end of the day.”

At event presentations, PGA Chair, Rodger Davis, was also on hand to present major sponsor Mick Power with Lifetime Honorary PGA Membership for his investment and service to the golf industry and, in particular, PGA Professionals.

HOW THE WINNING ROUND UNFOLDED

In a star-studded field that boasted legends such as Rod Pampling, Ian Baker-Finch and Terry Price, Wood’s bogey-free round of 62 was highlighted by an impressive run around the turn.

After early birdies at two and three, Wood birdied both nine and 10 and then made eagle at the par-5 12th to edge ahead.

After playing the back nine – his front nine – in 5-under Hart loomed as Wood’s greatest threat.

A dropped shot at the 412-metre par-4 fourth would prove costly in the end, birdies at six and seven leaving Hart just one short of matching the winning score.

WHAT THE WINNER SAID

“It’s always been a goal of mine to win this event outright. It was obviously good in 2018 to win and get my name up there but it’s a bit more special to get the win on your own.

“Playing here a lot, I know the birdie holes and the holes where you’re happy with par.

“Got off to a fairly solid start but a birdie on 10 and eagle on 12 got me going a bit.

“I wanted to birdie holes seven and eight, the short par 4s but didn’t manage to do that. Through the middle of the turn was a big momentum swing.

“The rain we had last week definitely greened up everything. The fairways are always good here, greens were rolling great today and there have been a lot of improvements to the course overall with cart paths and some trees taken out.

“The course is definitely heading in the right direction.

“I probably hadn’t played here since the pro-am last year so it was definitely good to come back and wind back the clock.”

LEADERBOARD RUNDOWN
1          Christopher Wood       62        $7,190
2          Dillon Hart                   63        $4,294
T3        Neville Hogan              64        $2,163.33
T3        Simon Tooman            64        $2,163.33
T3        Samuel Eaves               64        $2,163.33

NEXT UP

The adidas PGA Pro-Am Series now heads south to Melbourne for the Victorian PGA Head Club Professional Championship at Woodlands Golf Club on December 4 to be followed by the Eastwood Golf Club Pro-Am on December 5.

Final scores and prize money