A San Antonio car salesman brought plenty of zip to Martin Laird as he warmed-up for his defence of the Valero Texas Open in suburban San Antonio.
Braving real Scottish-like weather Laird kept warm thanks to the humour of his Pro-Am partner named Speedy Gonzalez.
The Loonie Tunes – Speedy Gonzalez. .. The Fatest Mouse in all of Mexico’.
No, not the Loonie Tunes cartoon character known as ‘The Fastest Mouse in all of Mexico.
Gonzalez works for a local Ford dealership but then there were plenty who could not believe it was the 10-handicapper’s real name when yesterday’s (WED) Pro-Am draw was released.
Efforts were made at the PGA Tour operations office to establish details of Gonzalez but that proved fruitless so it meant catching up with Laird and his team.
And what a bizarre tale unfolded.
“No, that’s his real but then my first thought when I met him this morning was the cartoon character,” said Laird.
Gonzalez’s demeanour was just the tonic on a cold, windy and wet day ahead of the $US 6.2m event being staged on the JW Marriott TPC San Antonio course.
“Boy, we needed Speedy out there as his humour kept us all warm,” added Laird.
Texas-born car salesman Speedy Gonzalez watches Martin Laird play his shot into final green – 2014 Valero Tezas Open Pro Am.
“He’s a real character and he just kept my caddy and myself, and our team entertained all day long with his jokes and his laughter.”
Except being christened ‘Speedy’ didn’t translate into a quick round of golf with Laird’s four partners taking just under six hours to play the Greg Norman course.
Gonzalez, wearing a cap with a four-leaf clover, played his round using a yellow ball and joked: “It was white when it started out.
“I’ve played in a lot of Pro-Ams but this is the first time I’ve played in the Texas Open Pro-Am.
“I’m a member at the Dominion Club here in San Antonio where I know all the squirrels by their first name and I’ve been training them to kick my ball back into the fairway.
“But seriously Martin was great fun to play with and we all wish him well this week.”
And young American superstar Jordan Spieth said he will look to Laird for the shortest way around this week’s course.
Spieth and reigning Open Champion Phil Mickelson have been drawn with the Scot for the opening two rounds.
“I’ve got a great pairing this week playing alongside Martin and Phil,” said Spieth.
“I’ve played with Phil before but then haven’t played with Martin, and after Martin shot that final round 63 to win here last year, and given Phil is playing here for a first time, maybe we can both learn something from Martin how to play the course this week.”
“My career certainly jump-started a lot quicker than I thought and now there is only more and more goals to set and more places to go and compete, so I have my goals set on what’s coming up versus what’s happened in the past.”
However Spieth ruled out making his debut in this year’s Scottish Open ahead of The Open as it will be the week of his John Deere Classic defence.
Laird will commence his defence at 8am local time (1pm UK) while fellow Scot Russell Knox tees-up at 12.20pm local time.
