When Gonzales does have the chance to come home, he says he can usually be found with Kristin, either on his couch in Lakewood, or sipping a glass of wine at La Petite Maison, a French restaurant in Olympia owned by their friends.
Gonzales met Kristin when he was 12, a time when he was recovering from a broken neck suffered when diving into a too-shallow lake near his Olympia home. She went to Tacoma Baptist, and he went to Capital, but the two continued dating for the next decade, then married shortly after he finished his college career.
“She’s always understood my passion and enjoyment of golf,” he says. “She’s been a godsend. There’s not too many women who could handle their guy being gone as much as we are gone. My family — including my parents and siblings — have been nothing but encouraging to me. If I stopped playing golf tomorrow, I’d still be good in their eyes.”
In June, when Tiger Woods rallied to win the Memorial, Gonzales was among the first to congratulate him.
[tweet]@TigerWoods proud of you big guy!![/tweet]
Now that he’s winning again, does Gonzales think Tiger is more likely to respond?
“No, I don’t think he ever will,” Gonzales says. “He definitely knows about it. From what I’ve heard, he doesn’t want to tweet back because he doesn’t want to end it.
“At some point I’d like to meet him and play golf with him and get to know him,” he adds. “I get along with everybody. We need to be paired together on a Sunday, that would be great.”
It stands to reason that Gonzales and Woods could cross paths next season, when Gonzales makes his return to the PGA Tour. Should they end up paired together, it may well be one of the most talked-about pairings of the entire PGA Tour season. But will the media write about Gonzales’ chance to actually beat Tiger, or just the Twitter?
“I want them to say whatever they want to say about me,” he says. “I’m happy with my life, and trying to play better and love my family and just enjoy myself. If I can project that to other people, then whatever they say, I’ll be happy with.”