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"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
September 14, 2004
It was an accomplishment that was perhaps invisible to all
except those who were looking for it, but May Wood’s tie for 47th
place in last week’s LPGA Tour John Q. Hammons Classic in Tulsa,
Okla. might one day be regarded as the women’s game equivalent of
the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open.
True golf fans will remember the 1996 GMO as the tournament
where Tiger Woods was unleashed on the PGA Tour. Woods, using the
GMO as a springboard, won two tournaments and enough money to
qualify for the Tour Championship. It was an incredible
performance that signaled the beginning of a new era in the men’s
game.
Wood would like to do the same for the LPGA Tour. Granted, she
isn’t likely to follow Woods’ debut season accomplishment for
accomplishment, but Tulsa might one day be regarded as the place
that started it all. In cased you missed it, here was Wood’s line
on the final leaderboard:
T47 May Wood 74-74-72-220 +7 $3,425
The Hammons event was Wood’s second LPGA tournament of the
season. Playing as an amateur earlier in the summer at the Corning
Classic, she missed the cut. Wood hadn’t teed it up in a
tournament since then, but when she was given a sponsor’s
exemption into the Hammons field, she readily accepted.
"It’s not that I was nervous," Wood said in explaining her
feeling standing on the first tee last week. "But it was my first
tournament in four months. I was really out of tournament shape. I
was timid over my putts and my shoulders were really tight— I
couldn’t get relaxed and I hit a few shots that cost me."
By cashing that check, Wood officially takes her game to the
next level. Having left Vanderbilt and amateur golf behind for
good, she’s pleased to have launched her professional career. The
three grand and change represents genuine accomplishment.
"I think it’s awesome [to be playing for pay]," Wood said.
"It’s really nice to go out there and not have any pressure on
you. I just go out there and play. I’m totally comfortable with my
decision to leave school [with two years eligibility remaining].
It’s amazing how much better I feel on the golf course."
When last we looked in on Wood, she had just turned pro, amid
exactly zero fanfare. She had no tournament schedule lined up, no
management team, no equipment contract. Much has changed in a few
months.
These days, Wood is being courted by several management groups.
She carries Titleist equipment, and is decked out in the company’s
logo from head to toe, including her bag. Word has begun to spread
about the 6-foot-2 blonde who wants to conquer women’s golf.
Florida-based teaching pro Phil Ritson is partly responsible
for Wood’s growing rep. Wood tells about a recent dinner attended
by her, Ritson and executives from a company eager to get her name
attached to their product line.
"They asked Phil a question and he embarrassed the heck out of
me," Wood said. " ‘Who was the best player you ever taught?’ He
said ‘May Wood.’ He’s taught some great players. To hear him say
something like that makes you blush when you’re in front of
people, but it also gets you fired up."
Wood has moved to Windemere, Fla. home of Woods, Mark O’Meara
and other touring pros, where she’s under Ritson’s careful watch.
She’s putting in a lot of time to try and live her dream, a dream
she’s carried around since she was 10.
"I’m out here to try and be the best," Wood said.
Can she be the female Tiger Woods, a mantle that Ritson has
already placed on her?
"Why not?" Wood said. "If I work my butt off, and be patient, I
think I’m capable of playing that kind of golf [on the women’s
tour]. That’s something that really motivates me."
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