Absence of star names gives Chris Wood hope in Majorca

ONLY four members of the world's top 100 are playing at the European Tour's event in Majorca this week – and three of them face each other in the opening two rounds.

Bristol's Chris Wood, fifth and third in the last two Open Championships and last season's Rookie of the Year, plays with Ryder Cup Dane Soren Hansen and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. Just behind them is Swede Peter Hanson and all four will be looking at the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca at Pula as a golden opportunity to register a first win of the year.

For Wood, third in the Italian Open on Sunday, it would also be a first victory of his professional career. The 22-year-old, who made his name as an amateur at Birkdale two years ago and then at Turnberry last July, missed out on the play-off by only one shot after bogeying the last hole.

He further stood out when he was unbeaten in Britain & Ireland's victory over Continental Europe at the Vivendi Trophy in Paris.

That performance came in front of Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie and on the possibility of being part of his line-up at Celtic Manor, Wood says: "It would be amazing, but there are probably 40 players have got that in the back of their minds.

"At the moment I'm not seeing myself as one of the top 12 in Europe. The team looks so strong already. A big win could change all that, of course."

This week would not constitute a "big win" as the total prize money of 680,000 is the third smallest on the circuit, but it could do wonders for his confidence.

Hansen, the top-ranked player in the field at 50th in the world, plays for the first time since The Masters over a month ago. The former Irish Open champion is still dealing with a court case in Denmark after being charged with tax evasion last August.

Many of the Tour's lesser lights will see this week as a chance to make their mark and there are others looking to get back in the headlines. Paul McGinley has yet to record a top-40 finish in the four events he has played since another knee operation late last year, while Kenneth Ferrie's five-year exemption for winning the European Open expires this season and he has so far missed eight out of nine cuts.

Jose Maria Olazabal was back on the European Tour in Majorca yesterday for the first time since last October – but just for one day. Bedeviled by problems with rheumatism, the double Masters champion decided he is fit enough only for the pro-am.

Olazabal, wanted by Montgomerie as one of his assistants in October's Ryder Cup and favourite to succeed him as captain, originally entered to play on the Pula course he designed but after practising at home in San Sebastian he has now delayed his tournament comeback still further.