Chris Wood Avoids Having To Hire Clubs For The Masters

We look back on when Golf Monthly Playing Editor Chris Wood was advised to hire clubs for The Masters after his own went missing at Atlanta airport

Chris Wood Avoids Having To Hire Clubs For The Masters

Chris Wood avoided having to use hire clubs at the 2016 US Masters after being reunited with his own missing set just in time.

The Golf Monthly Player Editor’s bag went awol at Atlanta Airport in the week before The Masters and he was subsequently advised by the airline to hire a set and they would refund the cost.

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However, the clubs eventually turned up and were delivered to Mizuno in the US, where a member of staff was tasked with ferrying them to Augusta.

They arrived just in time for Wood to play a practice round on the Monday with Rory McIlroy, where the Ulsterman managed a hole-in-one on the 16^th.

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The mix-up had threatened to jeopardise Wood’s preparation for his second Masters, where he ended in a tie for 42nd.

Talking about his call to the airline, Wood said: “I didn't drop the Masters bomb straight away.

"I said I need them for my work, I need them next week and she said if you can hire a set we'll refund you the money.

"I didn't really have a response to that. You can't blame her for that but I Tweeted it and a lot of people found it quite funny.

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“It was a bit stressful but I did a few hours on the putting green at home with an identical putter and the boys at my club double-cut and rolled the greens to try and replicate Augusta.”

Wood is not the first player to have a pre-tournament scare with missing clubs.

In 2015, American Russell Henley flew into Augusta on the Sunday before the tournament but his clubs didn’t manage to make the trip.

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Fortunately United Airlines located them hours later saving any further embarrassment for the official airline of the PGA Tour.

United Airlines has history in this area, having mislaid McIlroy’s clubs before the 2014 Irish Open. Again, there was a happy ending with Rory and his bag being reunited the following day.