Wood given extra drive by Clarke heroics

IF success is contagious, Chris Wood could be set to catch some given the company he keeps.

The 24-year-old Bristolian, a member of Chubby Chandler’s International Sports Management stable, returned yesterday to the scene of his Irish Open near miss last year and played a practice round with British Open champion Darren Clarke.

It is an arrangement Wood has appreciated since his first meeting with Clarke, just before the Englishman turned pro and joined ISM in 2008, and the Irishman’s recent success at Royal St George’s makes the experience even more instructive.