As she awaited the trophy presentation after winning the prestigious North and South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 last Friday, the enormity of the accomplishment started to sink in. Wood had been through a tough week, wading through two rounds of stroke-play qualifying and five college players en route to becoming the youngest player to win the championship. As a crowd of more than 300 looked on, Wood was prepared to read a hastily scrawled speech as she accepted her trophy.

"The guy at the podium said, ‘And here’s our champion. And she’s the perfect champion for this tournament,’ " Wood said. "And I just lost it. It had been a hard week, and I’d kept my emotions inside. Pinehurst was my favorite golf course, I looked up and saw the statue of Payne Stewart by the 18^th green. My family was there. I got up there and I couldn’t say a word. I looked up and saw about 15 women in the front row, and they were crying. The tournament director got a little teared up. I finally apologized for being so emotional and got through what I wanted to say."

Wood needn’t have apologized. That she was so taken by her enormous accomplishment speaks volumes for the young women some experts think could one day dominate the LPGA the way Tiger Woods has taken apart the PGA Tour.

Clearly, Wood had the proper respect and appreciation for what she did at Pinehurst. All the hard work she’d put in to that point had paid dividends she couldn’t have foreseen even two years ago. Watch out, LPGA Tour.

Any prospective agents wanting to represent the 6-foot-1, long-hitting beauty will have to wait a while. Wood, who signed with Vanderbilt last fall, plans on playing four years of college golf and enjoying the last of her carefree years. World-wide domination can wait a while.

Wood’s handiwork at the North-South would suggest that college domination isn’t far down the road. She took out five college players on her way to the championship.

The first victim was Leigh Anne Hardin, who was chosen to the U.S. Curtis Cup team last month. In May, Hardin helped lead Duke to the NCAA championship and was chosen a second-team All-American as a sophomore.

If Wood knew about Hardin’s recent accomplishments, she wasn’t intimidated by them. The score of the match was shocking—Wood won 7 and 6.

Wood had a tougher time in her second match, beating Wake Forest sophomore Ashley Hoagland 1-up in 20 holes. The next victims were two players who had just finished successful college careers, Kristin Dufour of Texas and Carrie Summerhays of BYU.

In the championship match, Wood handled Adrienne Millican, who made the Conference USA All-Freshman team for East Carolina this season. The score was 4 and 3, but the match wasn’t that close. Wood’s mammoth drives, some of which measured near 300 yards, were intimidating to her more experienced opponent.

"It’s amazing," Millican told the Fayettevile Observer. "She just hits it so far. After a while, that does put pressure on you."

In winning the title, Wood became the first player in history to win the North and South junior one year and the North and South Amateur the next.

"It’s unbelievable," Wood said. "Winning the North and South was just a culmination of all my hard work."

Wood has had an interesting summer already. For the second straight year, she played in the LPGA’s Nashville event. She shot a 1-under-par 71 at the Legends Club in the first round, and was 2-under for the tournament through five holes when a rain delay halted play.

"I’ve never hit the ball so well those first six holes," Wood said. "When they sounded the horn [to suspend play] I had a 15-footer straight up the hill for birdie at No. 6."

Wood enjoyed herself during the lengthy rain delay, playing cards with Julie Inkster and soaking up the experience. But when play was resumed, she couldn’t find her caddy.

"I didn’t have my clubs, and I started flipping out," Wood said. "I was flustered already, but when we got back out there, I had a stretch of eight holes were I just lost it."

Wood finished with a 79 and missed the cut. But she learned a lesson about how to handle weather delays. In the North and South championship match, rain suspended play for nearly an hour.

"But I came back out and played just like I did when we stopped," Wood said. "Those girls [on the LPGA Tour] play in rain delays every week. I wasn’t used to starting and stopping like that, But the experience taught me a lot."

Wood still has a full schedule before she moves to Nashville. Next, she’ll try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. After that comes the Betsy Rawls Classic, a major championship on the AJGA circuit. The AJCA’s Canon Cup is next, and Wood will almost certainly qualify for that circuit’s season-ending all-star matches. Wood ends her junior amateur career with the Ruth Eller Cup at The Honors.

Wood’s arrival at Vanderbilt should take the Commodores to the next level. Already, Vandy, under the direction of the impressive Martha Freitag, enjoyed its best season ever in 2001-2002, advancing to its first-ever NCAA championship. The Commodores had three All-SEC players, two Academic All-Americans and an honorable mention All-American, all firsts for the program. Coupled with returning stars Nicki Cutler and Courtney Wood, and old Tennessee golfing buddies Sarah Jacobs—who won the Tennessee Women’s Amateur last month—and Joni Gossett, Wood gives Vandy a formidable lineup.

"I have no doubt we’re going to be a Top 10 team next year," Frietag said. "I believe we can be a top five team, and when you get to that level, you give yourself a chance to win."

"Martha is the best, by far," Wood said. "She’s done a great job. The program is like a big family. I wanted to go to a smaller school where I could get an education and get along with my teammates. Vandy gives me that, and we’re going to have a great team, too."

ANOTHER STAR IN THE MAKING: In case you missed it, it bears retelling here that Chris Gilliland, son of Council Fire Director of Golf Hunt Gilliland, shot a 65 in qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur last week. Gilliland followed that great a score with a 74 to shoot 139 for two rounds and claim one of two qualifying berths at Old Fort Golf Club in Murfreesboro.

The fact that Gilliland knows he can take it deep will bode well for his future.

Gilliland won’t have to travel too far to play in the U.S. Junior. It’s set for July 23-27 at Atlanta Athletic Club.