Double vision

The thrill of winning a state title didn't last long for R.J. Wood.

There was more golf to play.

But by the time he had a chance to help his Yuma Catholic teammates win a team playoff against Scottsdale Christian, the outcome had already been decided.

"I knocked it (approach shot) to 2 feet, but I missed my birdie putt because I knew it really didn't matter," Wood said. "I was still pretty excited, but we had two seniors on the team that really wanted to win, and losing in a playoff was kind of hard."

The Shamrocks may have finished second, but Wood's rounds of 67 and 68 guided him to a 2A individual state championship for the second time in three years and The Sun/Yuma Rotary Club's Boys Golf Player of the Year award.

"This year has been my best all-around year," said Wood, who kept his stroke average for the season below par. "I've been lot more consistent and I've gotten smarter on the course. I've learned not to make a big number on a hole and not to get too upset with myself."

Wood's course management and discipline paid off on the final two holes of state on May 6 at the Aguila Golf Course in Laveen. Standing on the No. 17 tee with a one-shot lead and ignoring the water down the left side of the hole, he stuck to his game plan and hit driver on the short par-4 to set up a birdie. The Yuma Catholic junior then made par on the No. 2 handicap 18th hole to seal a two-stroke victory over Verde Valley's Dennis Loehrer.

"I knew I could lay up and par in, but I felt like going for it," Wood said of the 17th hole. "It was downwind, so I'd thought all day I'd just go for it. I didn't have to press myself at all. Those are my best two rounds for two days at a tournament."

Wood credits much of his growth as a golfer to his older brother J.J. Wood, a former Shamrock who recently finished his college golfing career at the University of Oklahoma.

"My biggest goal is just to always be better than my brother, but I don't try to think about what other people think when they compare me to him." he said. "I'm getting to a point now where I think a can compete with him and beat him sometimes."

The Wood brothers will both be living in Yuma for the summer, though they each have a busy travel schedule planned for the summer. R.J. will be jumping around the state to play in junior golf tournaments as well as making trips to Las Vegas and Palm Springs for national events.

"Winning school tournaments aren't as big for me as the national tournaments I play in because the competition is a lot stronger," R.J. said, "but it gives me a boost going into the summer. It gives me an idea of where my game is at."

Wood has already begun thinking beyond the summer as well, and is working with a golf instructor to target schools like Colorado, San Diego State and Oklahoma.

"I need to get my grades up, so that's going to be a huge factor," he said. "I've thought about not playing high school golf because it does get in the way of school and national events, so I don't know at this point if I'm going to play next year."

THE SUN/YUMA ROTARY CLUB 2008 ALL-REGION BOYS GOLF TEAM

Martin Salgado, Kofa

David Vallejo, Kofa

Henry Canan, Antelope

Seth Hodges, Yuma Catholic

R.J. Wood, Yuma Catholic