Elaine Wood of Spanish Fort and University of Montevallo is making her professional debut at the Guardian Championship in Prattville this weekend. She was a three-time Division II All-American at Montevallo and a twice Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year
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PRATTVILLE, Ala. — Elaine Wood of Spanish Fort, (Spanish Fort High) has spent the last four years as a part-time pro shop attendant at The Lakewood Club, the only private course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
This week, she makes her professional debut at the Guardian Championship on a sponsor’s exemption.
“I’m very honored to get the sponsor’s exemption to play and I hope to represent Alabama well,” said Wood. “The goal is to play professionally so this is big for me.”
After a very successful career at Montevallo, Wood turned professional on August 1 and went to LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I. While she didn’t advance to Stage II, she did earn Symetra Tour membership for the 2018 season.
“This week is a great way to see where my game is,” said Wood, while chipping at the practice area on Tuesday. “I played pretty well at Q-School and I saw things that I did just as good (as the rest) and things I should work on. I’m excited to see where my game is going this week.”
Wood was a three-time Division II All-American at Montevallo and was a two-time Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year. She also finished 15th at the national championship as a junior. In addition to her success in college, Wood also has three state amateur titles including the last two.
As a kid, Wood used to watch the LPGA Tour play at Magnolia Grove, another course on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Mobile.
“I thought it was the coolest thing when I would go watch the LPGA players and I knew then that this is what I wanted to do.”
Wood, who walked down the aisle at Montevallo in August, got a jump start on the week by playing a few practice rounds this past weekend.
“The golf course is in very, very good shape and the greens are very fast,” said Wood. “It’s going to take hitting it in the right quadrant here and you have to be below the hole to really play well.”
Her caddy this week will be the man that taught her the game, her dad Chuck Wood. Wood said that she will work to gain better status on the Symetra Tour next year and expects to also play some NWGA events as well.
For more information visit SymetraTour.com.
