There is probably no one in the field at the Paul Lawrie Match Play under more pressure than Chris Wood.
The Englishman currently occupies one of the nine automatic spots for this year’s European Ryder Cup team and knows victory at Archerfield Links will all but cement his place in Darren Clarke’s team.
For the moment, this is the last event Wood intends to play in the Ryder Cup qualifying process which comes to an end after next month’s Made in Denmark competition.
The 28-year-old is due to get married to fiancée Bethany on August 20 – the Saturday of the Czech Masters, the penultimate Ryder Cup ranking event on the European Tour schedule.
And if it looks like Wood is missing out on a place in the Ryder Cup team, he admits he may be tempted to postpone the wedding for a few weeks to boost his Hazeltine chances.
He joked: “I did tell our parents to take out wedding insurance just in case.
“I have told Bethany we might have to put it on standby just in case.
“She is probably asking for a divorce already but if I have to, I will play Denmark.
“The wedding is the Saturday of the Czech Masters and if I have to I’ll play there but I’d like to tie it all up this week.”
Wood, who won the BMW PGA Championship in May, knows a strong showing would also underline his match-play credentials to captain Darren Clarke, as well as his vice-captains Paul Lawrie and Thomas Bjorn, who are both in this week’s field.
The 6ft 6ins Englishman also knows victory at Archerfield would give him even more to celebrate when he heads to Dublin next week for his stag do.
He said: “We’ve got ten of us going in total so it should be a good crowd.
“My dad is the one I’m most concerned about. He is an unbelievable drinker and loves a pint of Guinness.
“We all think if we can keep up with Rich then we will be doing all right.
“A lot of the guys who are coming have been to the Masters and the Open to watch me.
“One of my best men came to the US Open but they will stay in a hotel somewhere else.
“Then they will come round for dinner and tell me about all their stories from the night before, falling outside on the drink in Atlanta for example.
“You miss out on a lot of that fun with your mates.
“More than anything, I’m looking forward to a nice weekend with my friends.”
