Willie Wood

Who is Willie Wood?

Willie West Wood is an American professional golfer who has played on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, and Champions Tour.

Wood was born in Kingsville, Texas. He had an outstanding junior career, winning the 1977 U.S. Junior Amateur, the 1978 PGA Junior, and the 1979 Western Junior, and was named the 1978 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year. He attended Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma and was a star member of the golf team, where he played alongside Bob Tway, Scott Verplank, and Tommy Moore. In 1983, he played on the Walker Cup team; and later that same year joined the PGA Tour by being medalist in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament.

Wood has split his playing time between the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He has 23 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour including a win at the 1996 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic, and 12 top-10 finishes on the Nationwide Tour. His best finish in a major championship was T12 at The Masters in 1997.

After turning 50 in late 2010, Wood played his first Champion Tour event, the AT&T Championship, where he finished T13. He won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott, New York on August 19, 2012, by defeating Michael Allen on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff for his first victory on the Champions Tour.