Willie Wood

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. He was a semifinalist at the 1981 U.S. Amateur, where he lost to Nathaniel Crosby.
In 1983, he played on the U.S. Walker Cup Team, and later that same year, joined the PGA Tour by earning medalist honors in the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (Q-School).
Sister, Deanie, was a member of the LPGA Tour. Willie was a full-time member of the PGA Tour from 1984-2006, playing 492 events and making 263 cuts, posting 23 top-10 finishes with a victory at the 1996 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic along with four runner-up finishes. He competed on the Web.Com Tour off and on, made 105 career starts, made 57 cuts, and recorded 12 top-10 finishes, with his best finish being a T-3rd in the 1996 Buffalo Open and the 1995 Mississippi Open.
In 2010, he debuted on the Champions Tour at the AT&T Championship, finishing T-13th at Oak Hills. He also played in the National Qualifying Tournament and finished T-23rd at TPC Eagle Trace.
In 2011, he made seven starts, with his best showing a T-29th in the U.S. Senior Open. Attended the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament and finished T-25th at TPC Scottsdale.
2012 Notes: He had an excellent second half to his season and made more than 80 percent of his seven-figure earnings total in the last seven of his 14 starts. In mid-August, he ended a victory drought of more than 16 years when he won the Dick's Sporting Goods Open in a playoff with Michael Allen, becoming the 12th open qualifier in Champions Tour history to do so and the first since Rod Spittle at the 2010 AT&T Championship. He claimed the Dick's Sporting Goods Open title with a par 4 on the first playoff hole after Allen found the water off the tee. In his only 2012 PGA Tour start, he finished T-18th at the True South Classic in July, his first top-25 finish on Tour since 2004.
2013 Notes: He did not post his first top-10 finish until September when he was T-9 at the Montreal Championship. Two starts later were T-6th at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. He was forced back to Champions Tour Q-School in November in an attempt to improve his status for 2014 by earning one of the five fully exempt spots. He was one of five players tied for fourth place at 12-under-par and vying for the two fully-exempt positions through 72 holes. After Scott Dunlap and Jeff Hart earned the final two exempt positions, he finished seventh, making a bogey on the third playoff hole.
2014 Notes: They had just one top-10 finish in 24 starts and finished 51st on the money list. Posted a 6-under-par Sunday at the Greater Gwinnett Championship, the day's best round, and finished T-8th.
2015 Notes: He played in just 13 events and got his only top 10 with a T-10th finish in the Constellation Senior Players. He was 65th on the money list and 51st in the Schwab rankings. He was forced back to PGA Tour Champions Q-School, where he finished T-2nd to regain full exempt status for 2016.
2016 Notes: Utilized his T-2nd finish at the 2015 National Qualifying Tournament to play nearly a full schedule in 2016 and finish 43rd on the final money list, a jump of 22 places from his previous season. He played in 21 events with a pair of top-10 finishes, both coming in the season's latter stages. After starting the week as an alternate at the Shaw Charity Classic, he gained entry following Bobby Wadkins' withdrawal and took full advantage of his opportunity. Shot rounds of 67-65-64 to claim a 4th-place finish in Calgary. It was his best showing since winning the 2012 Pacific Links Hawaii Championship. He posted a final-round 66 at the Dominion Charity Classic to earn a T-10th finish in Richmond in his final start of the year.
2017 Notes: Competed in 21 events but failed to post a top-10 finish for the first time since he began playing a full schedule on PGA Tour Champions in 2011. Their best finish was T-13th at the Allianz Championship. He finished 64th on the money list.
2018 Notes: Played in 13 PGA Tour Champions events, best finish T-35th Boeing Classic. I went back to Q-School and finished T-31st.
2019 Notes: Played in 13 PGA Tour Champions events with three top-ten finishes. He was T-2nd at the Cologuard Classic, including a bogey-free final round 69. He was four shots back of winner Mark O'Meara. It was the best finish of his career since winning the 2012 Pacific Links Hawaii Championship. Playing on a sponsor's exemption, Wood shot rounds of 73-72-68 and finished T-10th at the Mitsubishi Electric Classic. He also finished T-6th at the Regions Tradition.
2020 & 2021 Notes: Played in 19 PGA Tour Champions events with one top-ten finish. It was 69th in the Schwab rankings and 66th on the money list with earnings of $320,499. He finished T3 at the 2021 Principal Charity Classic, two shots back of winner Stephen Ames. He had rounds of 70-68-68 and was the last player in the field to make a bogey, going the first 45 holes of the tournament before making a bogey on No. 10 on Sunday.
2022 Notes: Played in five PGA Tour Champions events, best finish T-18th at Principal Charity Classic.
2023 Notes: Best finish T-39th at the Cologuard Classic.