Former Team Europe star Chris Wood is keen to return to the Ryder Cup one more time after opening up on his battle with anxiety.
The 36-year-old has endured a tricky few years, struggling for consistency on the course and suffering a series of injuries which have hindered his progress. Thus, he was limited to just two Challenge Tour appearances last year.
Wood has plummeted down the world rankings as a result and is now 1535th in the standings, but that hasn’t stopped him from aiming high. He is keen to get his career back on track by bidding to represent Team Europe at the Ryder Cup, as well as earning a spot in the LIV Golf 2025 League.
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He will compete in the International Series event on the Asian Tour over the coming days with the hopes of rising up the International Series' order of merit to earn a LIV Golf spot, with John Catlin currently topping the table at this stage.
Wood was a member of the team in 2016, and he has now revealed that he hopes to push for a European spot again in the future. Opening up on being diagnosed with chronic anxiety, he told PA: “And burnout. I've been through a really rubbish time over the last few years where my golf has really impacted me mentally.
"I've actually been like that since 2019 but it took maybe four years before I did anything about it. It took literally bottoming out to stop. I took a whole year off and this year has been about trying to get a card in my hand again.
"It's still very, very hard, but I'm still doing it because I want to and because I feel like I’ve got so much more to offer. I know the quality of shots I've got and I can hit, so that’s why I'm still in it."
If his push to represent Team Europe is successful, he will be hoping that he can right the wrongs of his side’s 2016 performance, where they lost 17-11. He was beaten by Dustin Johnson in the singles but secured victory over Jimmy Walker and Zach Johnson when paired with Justin Rose in the foursomes.
Wood concluded: “Ten years ago, if you had said to me you will be in this position mentally, I was so unaware of what those words meant, and it takes going through something like this, or someone very close to you going through it, before you can appreciate what those struggles are actually like.
"It's hard because I still believe I've even got a Ryder Cup in me, I truly believe that, and I wouldn't still be putting myself in positions where I feel anxious and exposed unless I felt like it’s going to be worth it."
