Lee Trevino

Lee Trevino
Trevino in April 2010
Personal information
Full name	Lee Buck Trevino
Nickname	The Merry Mex, Supermex
Born	(1939-12-01) December 1, 1939 (age 84) Garland, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Sporting nationality	United States
Residence	Jupiter Island, Florida, U.S.
Spouse	Claudia Fenley ​ (divorced)​ Claudia Bove ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	6
Career
Turned professional	1960
Former tour(s)	Senior PGA Tour Byron Nelson Award	1990, 1991, 1992

Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer who is regarded as one of the greatest players in golf history.^[1][2][3][4] He was inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events over the course of his career. He is one of only four players to twice win the U.S. Open, The Open Championship and the PGA Championship. The Masters Tournament was the only major that eluded him. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "the Merry Mex" and "Supermex," both affectionate nicknames given to him by other golfers.^[5]

Early life

Trevino was born in Garland, Texas,^[6] into a family of Mexican ancestry. He was raised by his mother, Juanita Trevino, and his grandfather, Joe Trevino, a gravedigger. Trevino never knew his father, Joseph Trevino, who left when his son was small. During his childhood, Trevino occasionally attended school and worked to earn money for the family. At age 5, he started working in the cotton fields.^[7]

Trevino was introduced to golf when his uncle gave him a few golf balls and an old golf club. He then spent his free time sneaking into nearby country clubs to practice and began as a caddie at the Dallas Athletic Club, near his home. He soon began caddying full-time. Trevino left school at age 14 to go to work. He earned $30 a week as a caddie and shoe shiner.^{[citation needed]} He was also able to practice golf since the caddies had three short holes behind their shack. After work, he would hit at least 300 balls.^{[citation needed]} Many of these practice shots were struck from the bare ground with very little grass (known locally as 'Texas hardpan') and often in very windy conditions. It is this that is widely believed to be the reason Trevino developed his extremely distinct, unique (many would say unorthodox), and compact swing method which he went on to develop with tremendous effect.^[8] A very pronounced controlled 'fade' was his signature shot, although he had many other shot-types in his repertoire and he is, still to this day, remembered as one of the very finest shot-makers of all time.

When Trevino turned 17 in December 1956, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and served four years as a machine gunner and was discharged in December 1960 as a corporal with the 3rd Marine Division. He spent part of his time playing golf with Marine Corps officers. He played successfully in Armed Forces golf events in Asia, where one rival was Orville Moody, who would follow Trevino to the PGA Tour in the late 1960s.^[9]

Professional career

After Trevino was discharged from the Marines, he went to work as a club professional in El Paso, Texas. He made extra money by gambling for stakes in head-to-head matches. He qualified for the U.S. Open in 1966, made the cut, and tied for 54th, earning $600. He qualified again in 1967 and shot 283 (+3), eight shots behind champion Jack Nicklaus, and only four behind runner-up Arnold Palmer. Trevino earned $6,000 for finishing fifth, which earned him Tour privileges for the rest of the 1967 season. He won $26,472 as a rookie, 45th on the PGA Tour money list, and was named Rookie of the Year by Golf Digest. The fifth-place finish at the U.S. Open also earned him an exemption into the following year's event.

In 1968, his second year on the circuit, Trevino won the U.S. Open at Oak Hill Country Club, in Rochester, New York, four strokes ahead of runner-up Nicklaus, the defending champion. During his career, Trevino won 29 times on the PGA Tour, including six majors. He was at his best in the early 1970s, when he was Jack Nicklaus's chief rival. He won the money list title in 1970, and had six wins in 1971 and four wins in 1972.

Trevino had a remarkable string of victories during a 20-day span in the summer of 1971. He defeated Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff to win the

In

In the early 1980s, Trevino was second on the PGA Tour's career money list, behind only Nicklaus.^[20] From 1968 to 1981 inclusive, Trevino won at least one PGA Tour event a year, a streak of 14 seasons. He also won more than 20 international and unofficial professional tournaments. He was one of the charismatic stars who was instrumental in making the Senior PGA Tour (now the PGA Tour Champions) an early success. He claimed 29 senior wins, including four senior majors. He topped the seniors' money list in 1990 and 1992.^{[citation needed]}

Like many American stars of the era, Trevino played a considerable amount overseas. Early in his career he played sporadically on the

At the Masters Tournament in 1989, 49-year-old Trevino opened with a bogey-free five-under-par 67 to become the oldest to lead the field after a round in the tournament.^{[22][23][24][25][26]} It came despite Trevino's words twenty years earlier, when he said after the 1969 edition: "Don't talk to me about the Masters. I'm never going to play there again. They can invite me all they want, but I'm not going back. It's just not my type of course."^[27] Trevino said that he felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere at Augusta National and that he disliked the course because his style of play, where he liked to fade low shots left to right, was not suited to the course.^[28][29]

Trevino did not accept invitations to the Masters in 1970,^[29] 1971, and 1974. In 1972, after forgoing the previous two Masters tournaments, he stored his shoes and other items in the trunk of his car, rather than use the locker room facilities in the clubhouse. Trevino complained that had he not qualified as a player, the club would not have let him onto the grounds except through the kitchen. But he later described his boycott of the Masters as "the greatest mistake I've made in my career" and called Augusta National "the eighth wonder of the world."^[30]

After his opening round 67 in 1989, Trevino tied for eighteenth; his best career result at the Masters was a tie for tenth (1975, 1985).^{[citation needed]}

Distinctions and honors

• Trevino was the first player to shoot all four regulation rounds under par at the U.S. Open. At Oak Hill in 1968, Trevino played rounds of 69-68-69-69.
• A major street in El Paso, Texas was named Lee Trevino Drive in his honor, and streets in Rio Rancho and Belen, New Mexico were also named for him.
• One of two golfers to win the PGA Tour's three oldest events in the same year: The Open Championship (1860), the U.S. Open (1895), and the Canadian Open (1904). Trevino won in 1971^[31] and Tiger Woods won in 2000
• Trevino played for the United States in the Ryder Cup six times (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1981), and had an impressive 17–7–6 (.667) record. He also served as team captain in 1985.
• Trevino won the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average five times: 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 and 1980.
• Trevino has established numerous scholarships and other financial aid to Mexican-Americans.
• Trevino was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.
• In 2000, Golf Digest magazine ranked Trevino as the 14th-greatest golfer of all time.^[32]

Humor

Throughout his career, Trevino was seen as approachable and humorous, and was frequently quoted by the press. Late in his career, he remarked, "I played the tour in 1967 and told jokes and nobody laughed. Then I won the Open the next year, told the same jokes, and everybody laughed like hell."^[33]

At the beginning of Trevino's 1971 U.S. Open playoff against Jack Nicklaus, he threw a rubber snake that his daughter had put in his bag as a joke at Nicklaus, who later admitted that he asked Trevino to throw it to him so he could see it. Trevino grabbed the rubbery object and playfully tossed it at Nicklaus, getting a scream from a nearby woman and a hearty laugh from Nicklaus. Trevino shot a 68 to defeat Nicklaus by three strokes.^[34]

During one tournament, Tony Jacklin, paired with Trevino, said: "Lee, I don't want to talk today." Trevino retorted: "I don't want you to talk. I just want you to listen."^[35]

Trevino made a notable cameo appearance in the comedy Happy Gilmore, appearing in several scenes where he's a witness to Happy's anger outbursts, always shaking his head in shocked disapproval. His only spoken line is when the movie's antagonist, Shooter McGavin, says to Happy in sarcasm, "Yeah, right, and Grizzly Adams had a beard," to which an unexpected Trevino appears and says to McGavin, "Grizzly Adams did have a beard." Trevino would later regret appearing in the film, due to the amount of swearing.^[36]

After he was struck by lightning at the 1975 Western Open, Trevino was asked by a reporter what he would do if he were out on the course and it began to storm again. Trevino answered he would take out his 1-iron and point it to the sky, "because not even God can hit a 1-iron." Trevino said later in an interview with David Feherty that he must have tempted God the week before by staying outside during a lightning delay to entertain the crowds, saying "I deserved to get hit...God can hit a 1-iron."^{[citation needed]}

Trevino said: "I've been hit by lightning and been in the Marine Corps for four years. I've traveled the world and been about everywhere you can imagine. There's not anything I'm scared of except my wife."^[37]

Professional wins (92)

PGA Tour wins (29)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jun 16, 1968	U.S. Open	69-68-69-69=275	−5	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
2	Nov 10, 1968	Hawaiian Open	68-71-65-68=272	−16	2 strokes	George Archer
3	Feb 23, 1969	Tucson Open Invitational	67-70-68-66=271	−17	7 strokes	Miller Barber
4	Feb 15, 1970	Tucson Open Invitational (2)	66-68-72-69=275	−13	Playoff	Bob Murphy
5	Mar 29, 1970	National Airlines Open Invitational	69-66-68-71=274	−14	Playoff	Bob Menne
6	Apr 25, 1971	Tallahassee Open Invitational	69-67-69-68=273	−15	3 strokes	Jim Wiechers
7	May 30, 1971	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	66-66-69-67=268	−12	4 strokes	Lee Elder, Jerry Heard, Hale Irwin, Randy Wolff
8	Jun 21, 1971	U.S. Open (2)	70-72-69-69=280	E	Playoff	Jack Nicklaus
9	Jul 4, 1971	Canadian Open	73-68-67-67=275	−13	Playoff	Art Wall Jr.
10	Jul 10, 1971	The Open Championship	69-70-69-70=278	−14	1 stroke	Lu Liang-Huan
11	Oct 31, 1971	Sahara Invitational	69-72-73-66=280	−8	1 stroke	George Archer
12	May 21, 1972	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic (2)	70-72-72-67=281	−7	4 strokes	John Mahaffey
13	Jul 15, 1972	The Open Championship (2)	71-70-66-71=278	−6	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
14	Sep 4, 1972	Greater Hartford Open Invitational	64-68-72-65=269	−15	Playoff	Lee Elder
15	Sep 17, 1972	Greater St. Louis Golf Classic	65-68-66-70=269	−11	1 stroke	Deane Beman
16	Feb 25, 1973	Jackie Gleason Inverrary-National Airlines Classic	69-69-69-72=279	−9	1 stroke	Forrest Fezler
17	Mar 11, 1973	Doral-Eastern Open	64-70-71-71=276	−12	1 stroke	Bruce Crampton, Tom Weiskopf
18	Mar 31, 1974	Greater New Orleans Open	67-68-67-65=267	−21	8 strokes	Bobby Cole, Ben Crenshaw
19	Aug 11, 1974	PGA Championship	73-66-68-69=276	−4	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
20	Mar 9, 1975	Florida Citrus Open	69-66-70-71=276	−12	1 stroke	Hale Irwin
21	May 16, 1976	Colonial National Invitation	68-64-68-73=273	−7	1 stroke	Mike Morley
22	Jul 24, 1977	Canadian Open (2)	67-68-71-74=280	−8	4 strokes	Peter Oosterhuis
23	May 14, 1978	Colonial National Invitation (2)	66-68-68-66=268	−12	4 strokes	Jerry Heard, Jerry Pate
24	Jun 24, 1979	Canadian Open (3)	67-71-72-71=281	−3	3 strokes	Ben Crenshaw
25	Mar 23, 1980	Tournament Players Championship	68-72-68-70=278	−10	1 stroke	Ben Crenshaw
26	Jun 29, 1980	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic (3)	67-68-68-69=272	−16	1 stroke	Tom Purtzer
27	Sep 21, 1980	San Antonio Texas Open	66-67-67-65=265	−15	1 stroke	Terry Diehl
28	Apr 19, 1981	MONY Tournament of Champions	67-67-70-69=273	−15	2 strokes	Raymond Floyd
29	Aug 19, 1984	PGA Championship (2)	69-68-67-69=273	−15	4 strokes	Gary Player, Lanny Wadkins

PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1970	Tucson Open Invitational	Bob Murphy	Won with birdie on first extra hole
2	1970	National Airlines Open Invitational	Bob Menne	Won with par on second extra hole
3	1970	Kaiser International Open Invitational	Ken Still, Bert Yancey	Still won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1971	Kemper Open	Dale Douglass, Gary Player, Tom Weiskopf	Weiskopf won with birdie on first extra hole
5	1971	U.S. Open	Jack Nicklaus	Won 18-hole playoff; Trevino: −2 (68), Nicklaus: +1 (71)
6	1971	Canadian Open	Art Wall Jr.	Won with birdie on first extra hole
7	1972	Greater Hartford Open	Lee Elder	Won with birdie on first extra hole
8	1978	Danny Thomas Memphis Classic	Andy Bean	Lost to birdie on first extra hole
9	1978	Greater Milwaukee Open	Lee Elder	Lost to par on eighth extra hole
10	1980	Michelob-Houston Open	Curtis Strange	Lost to birdie on first extra hole

European Tour wins (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Jul 15, 1972	The Open Championship	71-70-66-71=278	−6	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
2	Aug 11, 1974	PGA Championship	73-66-68-69=276	−4	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
3	Aug 12, 1978	Benson & Hedges International Open	69-67-72-66=274	−10	Playoff	Neil Coles, Noel Ratcliffe
4	Aug 19, 1984	PGA Championship (2)	69-68-67-69=273	−15	4 strokes	Gary Player, Lanny Wadkins
5	Jun 10, 1985	Dunhill British Masters	74-68-69-67=278	−10	3 strokes	Rodger Davis

European Tour playoff record (1–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponents	Result
1	1978	Benson & Hedges International Open	Neil Coles, Noel Ratcliffe	Won with par on fourth extra hole Ratcliffe eliminated by par on first hole
2	1986	Benson & Hedges International Open	Hugh Baiocchi, Mark James	James won with birdie on first extra hole

PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Nov 29, 1981	Casio World Open	68-67-71-69=275	−13	4 strokes	Isao Aoki

Southern Africa Tour wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Feb 7, 1981	Sun City Classic	72-64-72-73=281	−7	1 stroke	Mark McNulty

PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Nov 4, 1973	Chrysler Classic	68-72-69-68=277	−15	4 strokes	Stewart Ginn

Canadian Tour wins (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner-up
1	Sep 2, 1979	Labatt's International Golf Classic	67-76-72-70=285	+1	3 strokes	Lanny Wadkins
2	Jul 10, 1983	Labatt's International (2)	67-65-69-70=271	−17	3 strokes	Tsuneyuki Nakajima

Other wins (17)

• 1965 Texas State Open
• 1966 Texas State Open, New Mexico Open
• 1969
  World Cup Individual Trophy
• 1971 World Cup (team with Jack Nicklaus)
• 1972 New Mexico Open
• 1973 Mexican Open
• 1974
  World Series of Golf
• 1975 Mexican Open
• 1977 Morocco Grand Prix
• 1978
  Lancome Trophy
• 1980
  Lancome Trophy, Johnnie Walker Trophy
• 1981 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
• 1987 Skins Game
• 2001 Tylenol Par-3 Shootout

Senior PGA Tour wins (29)

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up
1	Feb 4, 1990	Royal Caribbean Classic	71-67-68=206	−10	1 stroke	Butch Baird, Jim Dent
2	Feb 18, 1990	Aetna Challenge	66-67-67=200	−16	1 stroke	Bruce Crampton
3	Mar 4, 1990	Vintage Chrysler Invitational	66-67-72=205	−11	1 stroke	Dale Douglass, Mike Hill, Don Massengale
4	May 20, 1990	Doug Sanders Kingwood Celebrity Classic	67-67-69=203	−13	6 strokes	Gary Player
5	Jun 3, 1990	NYNEX Commemorative	66-66-67=199	−11	Playoff	Mike Fetchick, Jimmy Powell, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
6	Jul 1, 1990	U.S. Senior Open	67-68-73-67=275	−13	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
7	Oct 21, 1990	Transamerica Senior Golf Championship	73-67-65=205	−11	2 strokes	Mike Hill
8	Feb 17, 1991	Aetna Challenge (2)	71-68-66=205	−11	1 stroke	Dale Douglass
9	Mar 17, 1991	Vantage at The Dominion	67-70=137*	−7	2 strokes	Mike Hill, Charles Coody, Rocky Thompson
10	Aug 25, 1991	Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic	66-65-69=200	−16	4 strokes	Jim O'Hern, Chi-Chi Rodríguez
11	Mar 15, 1992	Vantage at The Dominion (2)	68-66-67=201	−15	2 strokes	Chi-Chi Rodríguez
12	Apr 5, 1992	The Tradition	67-69-68-70=274	−14	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
13	Apr 19, 1992	PGA Seniors' Championship	72-64-71-71=278	−10	1 stroke	Mike Hill
14	May 3, 1992	Las Vegas Senior Classic	71-68-67=206	−10	1 stroke	Orville Moody
15	May 24, 1992	Bell Atlantic Classic	65-72-68=205	−5	1 stroke	Gibby Gilbert
16	May 30, 1993	Cadillac NFL Golf Classic	67-70-72=209	−7	2 strokes	Bruce Crampton, Raymond Floyd
17	Sep 26, 1993	Nationwide Championship	66-66-73=205	−11	2 strokes	George Archer, Jim Ferree, Mike Hill, Dave Stockton, Rocky Thompson
18	Oct 3, 1993	Vantage Championship	65-67-66=198	−18	5 strokes	DeWitt Weaver
19	Feb 6, 1994	Royal Caribbean Classic (2)	66-73-66=205	−8	Playoff	Kermit Zarley
20	Apr 17, 1994	PGA Seniors' Championship (2)	70-69-70-70=279	−9	1 stroke	Jim Colbert
21	May 15, 1994	PaineWebber Invitational	70-65-68=203	−13	1 stroke	Jim Colbert, Jimmy Powell
22	May 29, 1994	Bell Atlantic Classic (2)	71-67-68=206	−4	2 strokes	Mike Hill
23	Jun 19, 1994	BellSouth Senior Classic	67-65-67=199	−17	1 stroke	Jim Albus, Dave Stockton
24	Jul 31, 1994	Northville Long Island Classic	66-69-65=200	−17	7 strokes	Jim Colbert
25	Aug 20, 1995	Northville Long Island Classic (2)	67-69-66=202	−14	4 strokes	Buddy Allin
26	Oct 8, 1995	The Transamerica (2)	66-69-66=201	−15	3 strokes	Bruce Summerhays
27	Nov 3, 1996	Emerald Coast Classic	69-70-68=207	−3	Playoff	Bob Eastwood, David Graham, Mike Hill, Dave Stockton
28	Mar 29, 1998	Southwestern Bell Dominion (3)	69-69-67=205	−11	2 strokes	Mike McCullough
29	Jun 25, 2000	Cadillac NFL Golf Classic (2)	66-67-69=202	−14	2 strokes	Walter Hall

*Note: The 1991 Vantage at The Dominion was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	1990	NYNEX Commemorative	Mike Fetchick, Jimmy Powell, Chi-Chi Rodríguez	Won with birdie on fifth extra hole Powell and Rodríguez eliminated by birdie on first hole
2	1990	New York Life Champions	Dale Douglass, Mike Hill	Hill won with birdie on first extra hole
3	1993	Ping Kaanapali Classic	George Archer, Dave Stockton	Archer won with birdie on first extra hole
4	1994	Royal Caribbean Classic	Kermit Zarley	Won with par on fourth extra hole
5	1996	Emerald Coast Classic	Bob Eastwood, David Graham, Mike Hill, Dave Stockton	Won with birdie on first extra hole
6	1997	Home Depot Invitational	Jim Dent, Larry Gilbert	Dent won with birdie on second extra hole Gilbert eliminated by birdie on first hole

Other senior wins (10)

• 1991
  Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Mike Hill
  )
• 1992 Mitsukoshi Classic, Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Mike Hill)
• 1993 American Express Grandslam
• 1994 American Express Grandslam
• 1995 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Mike Hill)
• 1996 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf (with Mike Hill), Australian PGA Seniors Championship^[38]
• 2000 Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf – Legendary Division (with Mike Hill)
• 2003
  ConAgra Foods Champions Skins Game

Major championships

Wins (6)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1968	U.S. Open	1 shot deficit	−5 (69-68-69-69=275)	4 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
1971	U.S. Open (2)	4 shot deficit	E (70-72-69-69=280)	Playoff1	Jack Nicklaus
1971	The Open Championship	1 shot lead	−14 (69-70-69-70=278)	1 stroke	Lu Liang-Huan
1972	The Open Championship (2)	1 shot lead	−6 (71-70-66-71=278)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
1974	PGA Championship	1 shot lead	−4 (73-66-68-69=276)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
1984	PGA Championship (2)	1 shot lead	−15 (69-68-67-69=273)	4 strokes	Gary Player, Lanny Wadkins

¹Defeated Jack Nicklaus in 18-hole playoff; Trevino 68 (−2), Nicklaus 71 (+1).

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary

• Most consecutive cuts made – 16 (1969 Open Championship – 1973 PGA)
• Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (seven times)

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Year	Championship	54 holes	Winning score	Margin	Runner-up
1980	Tournament Players Championship	1 shot lead	−10 (68-72-68-70=278)	1 stroke	Ben Crenshaw

Results timeline

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Champions Tour major championships

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
1990	U.S. Senior Open	−13 (67–68–73–67=275)	2 strokes	Jack Nicklaus
1992	The Tradition	−14 (67–69–68–70=274)	1 stroke	Jack Nicklaus
1992	PGA Seniors' Championship	−10 (72–64–71–71=278)	1 stroke	Mike Hill
1994	PGA Seniors' Championship (2)	−9 (70–69–70–70=279)	1 stroke	Jim Colbert

U.S. national team appearances

Professional

• Ryder Cup: 1969 (tied), 1971 (winners), 1973 (winners), 1975 (winners), 1979 (winners), 1981 (winners), 1985 (non-playing captain)
• World Cup: 1968, 1969 (winners, individual winner), 1970, 1971 (winners), 1974

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lee Trevino.

• Hispanics in the United States Marine Corps
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour Champions wins
• List of golfers with most Champions Tour major championship wins
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers
• Monday Night Golf
• Lee Trevino's Fighting Golf

References