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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 29, 2016

Chris Wood

Surrey, England

SARAH GWYNN: Chris, BMW PGA Champion, thank you very much for joining us. Just try and sum up, if you will, how you feel right now.

CHRIS WOOD: Pretty tired. I proved today, didn't I, that it is so hard to win a golf tournament, and particularly one of this stature. The golf course here is so demanding, the final six holes or so, when they play into the wind like that, it seems like every shot you've got to hit good shot after good shot just to try and make pars.

That's how it feels when you're leading. So mentally, it's very draining, and you can't really enjoy it to be honest, even though obviously I played really nicely today. But now is the time where I can sort of feel, take a deep breath and enjoy everything real.

SARAH GWYNN: What's going through your mind on the back nine?

CHRIS WOOD: I didn't really know, because I didn't look at a board all day. That's one of my things; I'm not really a leaderboard watcher at all. It doesn't help me. It came to the last, I hit a perfect tee shot, and Punk said to me, he wanted me to lay up; I fancied it. It was only a 6-iron to the green. Instead, we sit sand wedge, sand wedge.

But when he tells me that, I know that probably par is good enough. So I sort of leave it in his hands, really.

Q. Nice sports car last year, 600,000 plus this year; must be your favourite, event, isn't it?
CHRIS WOOD: Yeah, I've always thought -- I've always wanted to win a BMW event. I don't know why. I've just always wanted to win one. It's obvious to see how well they look after us players and they put on such a good event for us. This is obviously the pinnacle for us.

Yeah, I think every trophy is very similar, as well, the BMW events. So I've sort of watched, and again, like I came here to watch this event when I was 12, 13, 14 with my dad, and I remember following players down the 18th hole that I just wanted to play in the tournament.

It wasn't really -- at the time I wasn't really thinking, you know, I can beat these players one day. I just wanted to be on that stage and to sort of come down the last with the lead and I managed to win the tournament, is quite surreal at the moment.

Q. Could I ask you, as well, what we've been saying all week, that Danny's victory in the Masters might propel people like yourself, Matt Fitzpatrick, yourself, players that are in the new wave of English talent; was there an element of that, as well?
CHRIS WOOD: Yeah, obviously I've grown up with Dan since we were about 13, 14, through England amateur golf, and yeah, there's no doubt, seeing players like that win pushes you.

I'm not somebody who needs to be motivated. I can motivate myself. But when you see other players win events like that, it does give you a kick up the arse to sort of, I need some of that, the feeling of winning a golf tournament, you can't describe.

Yeah, I've had a sort of -- I've not had a great sort of start to the season, really, but you just sort of -- you just want that feeling of winning a tournament again and holding a trophy. It does, it definitely spurs you on.

Q. Just with wondering what your thoughts are for the future, because this gives you a five-year exemption, three years into the Open and obviously The Ryder Cup; give us your thoughts on what you've achieved this week?
CHRIS WOOD: To be honest, until I have a look, I don't really know. I know obviously this event is our Flagship Event. It carries a nice exemption on Tour. I don't really feel like five years, yeah, I don't really feel like that's the biggest thing I can take out of this event.

Obviously being a Ryder Cup year, this is a good one to win. That's obviously the biggest thing I'll take from this. Just giving myself a chance now. That's all I ever wanted this season was just to give myself a chance to try and qualify, and this has done it.

Obviously there's three or four months of golf left to play where other players can win other big events to knock me out, so I've got to keep pushing and keep pushing, and yeah, we played that EurAsia Cup at the start of the year and Darren was captain there. The videos he played in our team room, they give you goosebumps, and things like that really work for me.

So yeah, to sort of have a chance to qualify would just be amazing. Yeah, something I need to sort of start getting my head around.

Q. What was the toughest shot you faced today?
CHRIS WOOD: Probably a tee shot on 15 is always one I look at to try and get past. It's not really a miss on 15, where 17 is also a tough tee shot but you can bail a little bit right. But 15, you've just got to stand there and just hit a proper shot. That's one of the hardest shots on the course.

Q. And what were your expectations at the start of this week?
CHRIS WOOD: Reasonably high. I've done well here before, so I always feel comfortable playing here. I can get in my own car. I can drive; my fiancÃ©e's here, my family are here. It's just an hour and a half to Bristol down the road. I have plenty of support and I feel really comfortable. I like the golf course. So you never really know; I never really set expectations but I always felt like I can compete.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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