Chris Wood continued his impressive MENA Golf Tour form capturing a third tournament victory in five events with his dramatic Al Houara Classic triumph in Morocco.

Wood produced  a real nerves-of-steoel final hole bunker shot to hold off a three-way challenge and win by a single shot at Al Houara Golf Club laid out along the Atlantic Ocean shoreline in northern Morocco.

Wood closed with a five-under-par 67 to finish at ten-under-par for the tournament, one clear of Pierre Pineau, Mark Power and Joseph Pagdin, who all finished at nine-under.

His final round was built on a composed front nine, picking up birdies at the second, sixth and ninth to make the turn firmly in control. He kept his foot on the accelerator on the back nine with further gains at the 10th and 13th – but it was far from plain sailing, as Wood acknowledged it had been a mental battle throughout.

TRIPLE #MENATour CHAMP …

Chris Wood makes it three-times lucky this 2025/26 season & extends his lead atop MENA Tour list with Al Houara Classic in Morocco

Well done, Chris

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“I had to rely on my fight and grit, my wedge play and my putting to hang in there,” said Wood. “After a few holes I realised it was just one of those days where I needed to stick in and grind.”

With Pineau and Power already in the clubhouse at nine-under and playing partners Pagdin and Maguire both pushing him to the wire, the tension came to a head on the 18th. Standing on the tee with a one-shot lead, Wood found the rough on the right, leaving a difficult approach with the pin cut tight to the right. Forced to play for the heart of the green, the wind at his back and unable to generate enough spin, his approach found the bunker at the back of the green. He faced a 20-yard bunker shot under the most intense pressure – and delivered, splashing out to four or five feet before rolling in the putt for par and victory.

“On the last, I hit a tee shot I’m not entirely comfortable with and ended up facing a tough bunker shot up and over a ridge, back into the wind,” he said. “It wasn’t ideal under pressure, but to knock it to four or five feet and hole the putt was very satisfying. I came here to win and that’s what I’ve done.”

Pagdin had been Wood’s closest shadow throughout the final round, sharing the same group alongside Maguire. The Englishman birdied the fourth, fifth and eighth on the front nine before dropped shots at the 13th and 15th threatened to derail his challenge. But he refused to give in, birdieing the 14th to stay in contention before a superb closing birdie at the 18th sent him to nine-under and applied maximum pressure on his playing partner.

“I stayed aggressive towards the finish and it was nice to birdie the last and apply a bit of pressure,” said Pagdin. “Credit to Chris for the way he played today. I’m feeling positive going into the second event – it’ll be good to have a day to rest and reset, then get straight back at it.”

Pineau and Power had already set the clubhouse target at nine-under, with both men carding flawless five-under 67s. Pineau picked up birdies at the second and ninth before adding three more at the 10th, 15th and 16th, while Power’s round was a tale of two halves – dropping shots at the third and seventh before responding brilliantly with birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth, then reeling off four consecutive gains from the 14th to the 18th in a stunning closing burst.

Overnight co-leader Alex Maguire, who stood on the 18th tee at nine-under and in contention for the title, bogeyed the last to fall to eight-under and finish in a share of fifth alongside Egor Eroshenko. Maguire had made a bright start with birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth before bogeys at the first and ninth proved costly, though gains at the 10th, 13th and 15th kept him firmly in the hunt until the very end.

Jack Floydd, whose extraordinary second-round 61 had been the story of the tournament, carded a 69 to finish seventh at seven-under, while England’s Luke Joy rounded out the top eight at six-under.

Morocco’s own Ayoub Lguirati closed the week on a high as the leading home player, producing his best round of the tournament – a 71 featuring four birdies and three bogeys – to finish tied 44th.

The MENA Golf Tour’s Morocco Series continues next week with the Hilton Classic at Al Houara Golf Club from 2-4 March 2026.

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