Craig Wood (golfer)
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | November 18, 1901 Lake Placid, New York, U.S. |
| Death | May 7, 1968 (age 66) Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Nationality |  United States |
| College | None |
| Career | |
| Professional wins | 22 (PGA Tour: 21, Other: 1) |
| Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 2 |
|
| Masters | Won 1941 |
| U.S. Open | Won 1941 |
| British Open | 2nd: 1933 |
| PGA Championship | 2nd: 1934 |
Craig Ralph Wood (November 18, 1901 – May 7, 1968) was an American professional golfer in the 1930's and 40's, the winner of 21 PGA Tour titles including two major championships and a member of three Ryder Cup teams (1931, 1933, 1935). He was born in Lake Placid, New York and died in Palm Beach, Florida.
Despite his two major championships Craig Wood is probably most well known as the victim of Gene Sarazen's famous albatross in the 1935 Augusta National Invitational (now known as the Masters). The shot left the two players tied at the end of regulation and Sarazen went on to victory in a 36 hole playoff.
This was the fourth runner-up and third playoff loss for Wood in a major in just 2 years. In the 1933 British Open at St. Andrew's Denny Shute had defeated Wood in another 36 hole playoff. In the spring of 1934 Wood was the runner up by a single shot to Horton Smith at the first Masters and later that year he was defeated on the 38th hole by Paul Runyan in the PGA Championship which was then decided by match play. After Sarazen's shot, Wood was left with his second consecutive Masters runner-up and a reputation of being "jinxed". At the 1939 U.S. Open he birdied the 72nd hole and was again in a playoff, but this time Byron Nelson was the winner, making Wood the first player to lose all 4 major championships in extra holes. Greg Norman is the only other player to suffer this fate.
In 1941, at the age of 39, Wood finally beat his "jinx" in noteworthy fashion, winning the Masters and becoming its first wire-to-wire champion with rounds of 66-71-71-72=280 and a 3 shot victory over Byron Nelson. Only 3 other men have equalled his wire-to-wire feat, Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus (1972) and Raymond Floyd (1976). He followed his Masters success by winning the 45th U.S. Open at The Colonial Club in Ft. Worth, TX. His score of 284 beat out another former nemesis Denny Shute by 3. This was the first time someone had successfully captured the first two major championships of the year.
To this day a 72 hole golf tournament the "Craig Wood Memorial Par" is still played in his honour each year in Tasmania, Australia.
Contents |
[edit] PGA Tour wins (21)
- 1928 (1) New Jersey PGA Championship
- 1929 (2) Oklahoma Open, Hawaiian Open
- 1930 (2) New Jersey PGA Championship, Oklahoma City Open
- 1931 (1) Harlingen Open
- 1932 (3) New Jersey PGA Match Play Championship, San Francisco Open-Match Play, Pasadena Open
- 1933 (2) Los Angeles Open, Radium Springs Open
- 1934 (2) Galveston Open Championship, New Jersey Open
- 1936 (1) General Brock Open
- 1938 (1) Augusta Open-Forest Hills
- 1940 (2) Metropolitan Open, Miami Biltmore International Four-Ball (with Billy Burke)
- 1941 (2) The Masters, U.S. Open
- 1942 (1) Canadian Open
- 1944 (1) Durham Open
Major championships are shown in bold.
[edit] Other wins
this list may be incomplete
- 1925 Kentucky Open
- 1938 New Jersey PGA Championship
[edit] Major Championships
[edit] Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner Up |
| 1941 | The Masters | -8 (66-71-71-72=280) | 3 strokes |  Byron Nelson |
| 1941 | U.S. Open | +4 (73-71-70-70=284) | 3 strokes | Denny Shute |
[edit] Results timeline
| Tournament | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF |
| U.S. Open | T51 | DNP | CUT | T46 | T16 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | QF |
| Tournament | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | NYF | NYF | NYF | NYF | 2 | 2 | T20 | T26 | T34 | 6 |
| U.S. Open | T9 | DNP | T14 | 3 | DQ | T21 | T66 | T36 | DNP | 2 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | 2 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | R32 | DNP | F | DNP | SF | R32 | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T7 | 1 | T23 | NT | NT | NT | DNP | T52 | DNP | 34 |
| U.S. Open | 4 | 1 | NT | NT | NT | NT | CUT | DNP | CUT | T27 |
| The Open Championship | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | NT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | R32 | R32 | QF | NT | R16 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | R64 |
| Tournament | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | 59 | T61 | 71 | 62 | 70 | CUT | CUT | CUT |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T47 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | WD | CUT | DNP | WD | WD |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
NYF = Tournament not yet founded
NT = No tournament
DNP = Did not play
WD = Withdrew
DQ = Disqualified
CUT = missed the half-way cut
R64, R32, R16, QF, SF, F = Round in which player lost in PGA Championship match play
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
[edit] See also
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