Chris Wood takes Wales Open lead

Golf Betting Lines

06/03/2010 - Newport, Wales (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - England's Chris Wood shot a six-under 65 to take the first-round lead Thursday at the Wales Open.

Wood collected six birdies in a bogey-free round on the Celtic Manor course to finish with a one-shot lead over Welshman Bradley Dredge and Australia's Andrew Dodt.

Edoardo Molinari, Richard McEvoy, Rhys Davies and Raphael Jacquelin were another stroke further back at four-under 67, while former U.S. Amateur champion Richie Ramsay led a large group at 68.

Wood rebounded nicely from his last round on the European Tour -- a 77 in the final round of the BMW PGA Championship two weeks ago. He held the 54-hole lead at the tour's flagship event, but finished four shots behind winner Simon Khan.

"It was just a really tough day for me," Wood said of his Sunday at Wentworth. "I thought the course played a lot harder than it did the previous three days. It was a new experience for me -- leading on Saturday night by a couple of shots."

At 22 years old and playing just his second full season as a professional, Wood has already made a name for himself as a rising star on tour.

He turned pro after tying for fifth place at the 2008 British Open, then shared third place at the '09 Open -- one shot out of the playoff between winner Stewart Cink and Tom Watson.

While he has yet to win, Wood continues to come close. He has three top-10 finishes in his last three starts, including a tie for third place at the Italian Open and a share of fifth in Mallorca.

Wood birdied just one par-five hole on Thursday -- the 562-yard 11th, which is the shortest of the four par fives at Celtic Manor.

Nevertheless, he felt like he put himself in position to shoot a good score by driving the ball so strongly.

"If you can set it up off the tee, it makes it a hell of a lot easier on the next few shots," he said.

The birdies that Wood made -- three on both sides of the course -- were set up by good approach shots, and he rarely found himself needing to make long putts.

"I struggled a little bit with the pace of uphill putts, but I had some really good shots and gave myself quite a lot of chances," he said.

"No bogeys is always pleasing," he said.

With Celtic Manor set to host the Ryder Cup in October, European captain Colin Montgomerie had his eye on several players in the field. Among them was Spain's Alvaro Quiros, who had a hole-in-one Thursday at the 189-yard third hole.

The long-hitting Spaniard, who captured a win earlier this season in his home country, opened with a 71 and was tied for 40th place.

"Someone who hits the ball that far, what an asset that is," said Montgomerie, who had a 70.

NOTES: Defending champion Jeppe Huldahl of Denmark opened with a 72...Khan (71), Paul Lawrie (72), Paul McGinley (72) and Scott Strange (79) are the other former Wales Open champions in the field this week...Richard Green and Paul Waring withdrew from the tournament.

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