Martin Laird could not have received a better omen as he now strives to become the first player in 25 years to win both the week before the Masters and also succeed at Augusta National.
The new Valero Texas Open champion was among 24 players, caddies and team managers flown by sponsors on three private jets on Sunday night direct from San Antonio, Texas and touching down at around 11pm local time in Augusta, Georgia.
However Laird had nowhere to stay so his management company Hambric Sports organised a spare bed in the house they had rented for fellow client and fellow Scot Sandy Lyle and winner of the 1988 Masters.
Lyle had been at Augusta National that afternoon playing the course and he was outside having lunch when he was asked: “Hey Sandy? Are you coming inside to watch the golf from San Antonio.
Martin Laird has a Texas Open winning grin as he looks to match a 25-year old Scottish Masters double.
Lyle responded: “Why who’s leading?”
And when Lyle was informed it was his fellow countryman he managed to catch the last six to seven holes, and Lyle them remained up to the arrival of Laird, who had ended a streak of 14 victories by USA born players on this year’s PGA Tour.
Had Laird not captured a third PGA Tour title he was intending to spend this week moving from his winter home in Scottsdale, Arizona to he and his wife, Megan’s summer residence in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Obviously, last night was a whirlwind change of plans,” he said.
“Fortunately they had a spare bed in the house in the Hambric Sports house they had rented for Sandy.
“I got there about 11.30pm and we opened a bottle of wine and savoured that.
“But one of the first things Sandy mentioned to me that it was the 25th anniversary since he won the Greater Greensboro Open and then the week later won the Masters.
“So it would be nice if I could repeat what Sandy achieved but coming in here to Augusta I have arrived with confidence after last week and we will see what happens.
”So I guess the plan move from Colorado to the east coast is now on hold as we were going to move on Friday and get ourselves settled in Charlotte for the remainder of the season.
“I was then due to play Hilton Head the week after the Masters but this week will be five events in a row for me, so I have pulled out of Hilton Head and I will go back home and organise the move to Charlotte.
“I would have also spent say Sunday watching the last round of Masters as it’s one of a couple of golf events I will watch on TV.”
Laird had been asked to compare his three PGA Tour wins and declared his victory in suburban San Antonio, that saw him move from 117th in the World Rankings to 56th, a jump of 61 places.
“Winning last week is very different to my two prior wins,” he said.
“The first win is always going to be special and Bay Hill was great because of the tournament it is and with Arnie being there.
“But this one could be the most important for me because the last seven or eight months I have really been playing badly and my confidence was going. You start to doubt yourself, what you are doing and whether I was right to make the swing changes I did.
“So it’s extremely gratifying when all that hard work on making the changes comes around. I mean, last week was without doubt the best I’ve ever hit it for a week over all four days.
“The way I putted the final round was really good but the first three days I was just average on the greens. Every day I came off in a bad mood thinking that was the worst score I could have shot today, so it was nice to go out Sunday and finally get the best I could have shot.”
After a disappointing opening round score of 75, Laird then spent four hours at the far end of the Redstone range and then came out the next day playing his closing seven holes in five under par and just missing the cut by a shot.
He took the confident of that second round in Houston the near four-hour drive west to San Antonio to relegate World No. 2 Rory mcIlroy into second place with a blistering final round 63 that had been the Sunday afternoon hallmark of course designer, Greg Norman.
“It’s really turned around since the first round in Houston as I’d hit it terrible, I mean I don’t think I hit the middle of the clubface once with an iron,” Laird recalled.
“It was just shocking how badly I hit it.
“So I went back to the range and hit balls for about four hours and got things figured out. Then I went out Friday and finished really strongly to barely miss the cut and that gave me a lot of confidence.
“People would never have thought it back then but I was quietly confident of playing well going to San Antonio because I had hit it so well in the second round at Houston – and it’s a golf course that’s set up perfectly for me.”
And among Laird’s belongings were the Valero Texas Open trophy and a pair of cowboy boots presented each year to the winner.
“The boots were a size 12 so they were a little too big,” he said.
However Laird has put Augusta National on notice revealing his jacket size is 42 long.
Laird had arrived at the course a 3pm local time and was the second last to register in being given badge No. 92 in the initial 94-player field that has been reduced to 93 in the absence now of former Open Champion, Darren Clarke.
