The Chris Wood column

By Chris Wood Last updated: 29th June 2010

Hello everyone - I'm at a busy airport waiting to board my flight to Paris for the Open de France.

It feels great to be back on tour and ready to get into the competitive spirit.

I've played a lot in the last few months so those two weeks off felt a lot longer than just a fortnight but they have done the trick.

The flat is still being looked after (I'm quite glad to be getting out of the country so I can forget about that nightmare!) and I'm over the sickness and feeling stronger.

In fact it might prove to be a bonus that I had to take an extra week off - I'm feeling a bit more relaxed than I would have done if I had gone straight back on tour and I had a week of working every day, all day with my coach Paul.

We've done some great work which should hopefully reap some rewards - it certainly feels beneficial.

I haven't played in the Open de France before but I was first reserve for last year's event so I did get to play the Paris National course and I thought it was an awesome layout so I can't wait to get out there to play it.

The last few holes are really dramatic and if you are in contention it must be a fantastic challenge.

I also think the course suits me because you don't need to hit the driver off the tee too often; it is very much a "find your position off the tee" course so I can use my trusty 2-iron!

What with the long grass and high banking around the greens it slightly resembles a links course and because of the hot and dry conditions I think it will be running fast which obviously suits me so I'm looking forward to a good week.

After that I've got the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and then the Open Championship at St Andrews.

You do start to think of the big events a few weeks out and I'm such a fan of the Open that I'm really excited about travelling up to Scotland.

It is easily the most thrilling event I have played in and I can't wait - I really cannot wait - to be part of it again, teeing off in front of the big crowds!

I can't sign off without mentioning the World Cup! Blimey - it was unbelievable wasn't it? Germany looked they would score every time they went forward.

They had so much room and space that I thought we must be down to nine men at one stage!

I'm a bit relieved in a way because there is no way we would have won the tournament playing like that so I'd rather get it over with.

I kind of hope Germany go on to win now, partly because my Gran is German (not enough to make me support them yesterday though!) but also because we could at least say we were knocked out by the champions.

Finally I'd just like to say thank you for all the nice comments on the column so far. Next week I thought it would be a good idea to answer some of your questions.

Post them in the comment section and I'll answer the best and most interesting ones!

Chris Wood