1939-

American golfer

C ompletely self-taught, Lee Trevino's unorthodox swing has made golf pros shudder throughout his career. With a wide stance and a closed club face, he drives through the ball with a flat baseball-type swing. By the standards of traditional golf, he does everything wrong, which somehow turns out right. Trevino, who has long shunned golf instructors, once told the San Antonio Express-News, "I'll hire [an instructor] when I find one who can beat me." Over his career, which has spanned more than three decades, Trevino has found little need for any advice. Known as the Merry Mex for his nonstop chatting around the course, Trevino is an exceptional golfer as well as a favorite of galleries wherever he plays.

Caddie Shack Golfer

Lee Trevino was born on December 1, 1939 in Dallas, Texas. His father, Joseph, was not a part of his life, and he was raised by his mother, Juanita, a domestic, and his maternal grandfather, Joe Trevino, a Mexican immigrant who worked as a grave digger. The family lived in a four-room house with no electricity or plumbing that was about 100 yards off the seventh fairway of Glen Lakes Country Club. As a child, Trevino watched the golfers out on the fairway, and, after finding an old club, began to practice hitting balls around his yard. At the age of eight he began working as a caddie, and played golf on three short holes behind the caddie shack.

Trevino quit school after the seventh grade and took a job at Glen Lakes as an assistant groundskeeper. On the side he would work as a caddie and play a few holes at the end of the day. Lying about his age, Trevino joined the U.S. Marines when he was seventeen and served two two-year stints in Asia and played for the Third Marine Division golf squad. By the time he was discharged in 1961, he was a good golfer, with a four-handicap, but wanted to get better. He took a job at Hardy's Driving Range and played on the rough flat terrain of the Tenison Golf Course, a municipal course in Greenville, Texas, where he worked on developing his unusual swing to perfection.

To supplement his income, Trevino began hustling golf bets. At first, he d simply wager that he'd come out ahead in a round of golf. But when his winning ways scared off most of his competition, he began taking bets that he could win using a 26-ounce Dr. Pepper bottle wrapped in adhesive tape for a club. He later boasted that he never lost with that bottle. His early experience of wagering more money than he had to lose helped Trevino develop his competitive edge and his coolness under extreme pressure later in his career. Early in his professional career, Trevino would often place offcourse bets on his performance, sometimes winning as much on his wagers as he did in prize money.

Turns Professional

Eventually Trevino found someone willing to subsidize his expenses for a few tournaments that didn't require Professional Golf Association (PGA) membership. During 1965 he played in three events, finishing first at the Texas State Open, second at the Mexico City Open, and fifth at the Panama Open. His performance was good enough to garner the support of Martin Lettunich, a wealthy cotton farmer from El Paso, who secured a job for Trevino at El Paso's Horizon Hills Country Club.

In 1965 Lettunich and his buddies invited Raymond Floyd, a rising star on the PGA, to challenge a local player. As Sports Illustrated retold the now-legendary anecdote, "Floyd pulled into Horizon Hills in a white Cadillac, where he was met by a young Hispanic clubhouse boy, who retrieved Floyd's clubs from the trunk, escorted him to the locker room, and shined his shoes. 'Who am I playing today?' Floyd asked. 'You're talking to him,' Trevino replied." The two played three rounds, and with one hole left, Trevino was up by a stroke. Floyd saved himself from the embarrassment of losing by eagling the final hole to win by one. Packing up his clubs, Floyd told Trevino, "Adios. I've got easier games than this on the Tour." The two would meet again many times on the PGA and Champions Tours.

Chronology

1939 Born in Dallas, Texas 1956-60 Serves in the U.S. Marines 1960-65 Head professional at Hardy's Driving Range in Dallas 1966 Joins the Professional Golf Association (PGA) Tour; becomes chairman of the board of Lee Trevino Enterprises, Inc. 1966-67 Assistant professional as Horizon Hills Country Club, El Paso, Texas 1983-89 Golf commentator for the National Broadcasting Network (NBC) 1984 Retires from the PGA Tour 1989 Joins the Champions Tour

Joining the PGA in 1966, Trevino played in the U.S. Open at the Olympic Country Club in San Francisco. Tying for fifty-fourth place, he returned home with $600 and severe doubts about his future in golf. The following year, Trevino's wife sent off the twenty dollar registration fee for the 1967 U.S. Open trials despite her husband's misgivings. At the qualifying event, Trevino shot under 70 in both rounds, posting the best score of all qualifiers. He then shocked everyone, including himself, by finishing fifth in the U.S. Open. With new confidence, Trevino played a dozen more tournaments in 1966, finishing out of the money only twice and was named Rookie of the Year.

Trevino's first tournament, and first major, win came in 1968 when he took the U.S. Open, shooting a record four rounds under 70 (69, 68, 69, 69). Later in the year he won the Hawaiian Open. Although he only won total of three tournaments in 1969 and 1970 (the Tucson Open twice and the National Airlines Open Invitational), he managed to place in the money often enough to place him among the tour's top money winners.

A Year and a Career to Remember

Coming off a 13-month winless stretch, Trevino's breakthrough came between April and July 1971, during which time he won six tournaments. He won the U.S. Open, Canadian Open, and British Open championships in sucession within a 23-day period. In a thrilling finish that remains one of the highlights of his career, Trevino won his second U.S. Open championship in four years by beating legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus by three strokes in a playoff round. Although an acute case of appendicitis requiring emergency surgery slowed Trevino during the second half of the 1971 season, he received numerous awards, including Golf 's PGA Player of the Year, Sports Illustrated 's Sportsman of the Year, and the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year.

By the time he retired from the PGA Tour in 1984, Trevino had won 29 PGA tournaments along with an array of international and special events. His six major titles included his two U.S. Open titles in 1968 and 1971, the British Open title in 1971 and 1972, and the PGA Championship in 1974 and 1984. Suffering from chronic back problems, brought on by being struck by lightening in 1975, Trevino retired from the PGA Tour in 1984 and spent some time in the broadcasting booth for NBC Sports.

Joins the Seniors

In 1989 Trevino turned fifty and became eligible for the Champions Tour (previously known as the PGA Senior Tour) and joined the tour for the last event of the season. If he was a star on the PGA Tour, Trevino quickly became a superstar on the senior tour. In 1990 he was the leading money winner in all of golf, with over $1 million in single-season earnings. He won seven titles during the year, including once again beating Nicklaus, this time at the U.S. Senior Open by shooting a 67 on his final round. He was named both Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year.

Trevino won three tournaments in 1991 and in 1992 had five victories before injuring his thumb in June, which required surgery. Despite his shortened season, he was once again named Player of the Year and once again took home more than $1 million in winnings. Still recovering from his thumb injury, Trevino managed just three wins in 1993, but stormed back in 1994 with six victories and a career-high $1.2 million in earnings. He was named the Champion's Tour Player of the Year for the third time. The following year he became the tour's all-time winningest player after notching his twenty-five victory, a position he held until overtaken by Hale Irwin, six years his junior, who had a total of 36 Champions Tour titles by 2002.

Awards and Accomplishments

1966 Named Rookie of the Year by the Professional Golf Association (PGA) 1968 Wins U.S. Open 1970 Named Texas Professional Athlete of the Year by the Texas Sports Association 1970-74, 1980 Awarded the Vardon Trophy from the PGA five times for lowest average strokes per round by a professional golfer 1971 Wins U.S. Open; wins British Open; receives Hickok Belt for professional athlete of the year; received Gold Tee Award; named Player of the Year by PGA and Golf ; named Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated ; named International Sports Personality of the Year by the British Broadcasting Association; named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press; named Top Performer in Golf by Sport ; named Sports Man of the Year by The Sporting News. 1972 Wins British Open 1974 Wins PGA Championship; wins World Series of Golf 1978 Inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame 1979 Inducted into the American Golf Hall of Fame 1981 Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame 1984 Wins PGA Championship 1990 Wins U.S. Senior Open 1992, 1994 Wins PGA Seniors Championship

Related Biography: Golfer Hale Irwin

Hale Irwin was a two-sport athlete at the University of Colorado, winning the 1967 National Collegiate Athletic Association golf championship as well as being a two-time All-Big-8 football defensive back. His first PGA Tour victory came in 1971 when he won the Sea Pines Heritage Classic, and he had 20 tournament wins by 1994, including three majors (the U.S. Open title in 1974, 1979, and 1990).

Irwin joined the Champions Tour in 1995, finishing first in two events his rookie year and two in his sophomore year, one being the PGA Seniors Championship. By 1997 Irwin had begun his domination of the senior tour in earnest. He won an incredible nine tournaments, including his second PGA Seniors Championship, which he won for the third consecutive year in 1998. He continued to finish on top of the leader board, including wins at the 1999 Ford Senior Players Championship and at the 2000 U.S. Senior Open.

In 2001 Irwin surpassed Trevino as the winningest player on the senior tour by taking his thirtieth win. By the end of the 2002 season, he had 36 Champion Tour victories. He also set a new record for earnings, surpassing his previous record of $2.86 million with a total of $3.3 million in 2002, becoming the oldest player to win the money title.

Although he continued to win an occasional tournament during the latter part of the 1990s, Trevino's presence in the top spot of the leader board became less frequent. He captured his first victory in two years when he won the Cadillac NFL Golf Classic in 2000. He is one of only two golfers (the other is Gary Player) who has won a tournament in each of three decades. "I wouldn't still be playing if I didn't think I could still win," Trevino told Golf World after his twenty-ninth senior tour win. "If I don't think I can win, then I'll just quit. It may even happen in the middle of a round." In 2002 his best finish was a tie for ninth at the Napa Valley Championship. Despite his slide down the points and win list, Trevino remains one of the game's most popular players.

The Merry Mex

A gifted if unorthodox player, Trevino, known as the Merry Mex, is gregarious and talkative, usually chatting nonstop around the course. He is a fan favorite, who adds a sense of showmanship and fun to a sport that often emphasizes reserve and rectitude. Known for his easy laugh and sometimes sharp wit, he has an uncanny ability to focus, relax, and refocus his way around a golf course that can unnerve his competitors who don't possess the same gift. Married for the third time, Trevino has two children with his wife, Claudia, and four children from his previous marriages. Trevino summed up his simple golfing philosophy that has carried him through his 35-year career with a characteristically caustic bit of wisdom: "The two things that don't last," he told Sports Illustrated, "are pros putting for bogey and dogs chasin' cars."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Assured Management Company, 1901 W. 47th Place, Ste. 200, Westwood, Kansas 66205.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY TREVINO:

(With Oscar Fraley) I Can Help Your Game. Greenwich, CT: Fawcett Publications, 1971.

(With Dick Aultman) Groove Your Golf Swing My Way. New York: Atheneum, 1976.

(With Sam Blair) They Call Me Super Mex. New York: Random House, 1982.

(With Sam Blair) The Snake in the Sandtrap (And Other Misadventures on the Golf Tour). New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1985.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

The Complete Marquis Who's Who. New York: Marquis Who's Who, 2001.

Dictionary of Hispanic Biography. Detroit: Gale Research, 1996.

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000.

Periodicals

Anderson, Kelli. "Lee Trevino." Sports Illustrated (June 7, 1993): 52-3.

Fields, Bill. "Solitary Man." Golf World (January 19, 2001): 23.

Garrity, John. "Lee Trevino." Sports Illustrated (April 25, 1994): 46-7.

Looney, Douglas S. "Artistry Revisited." Sports Illustrated (July 9, 1990): 20-1.

McDermott, Barry. "It's an Old Man's Game After All." Sports Illustrated (August 27, 1984): 28-30.

Moore, Kenny. "It's Nifty Being 50." Sports Illustrated (December 18, 1989): 34-7.

"Trevino Ends Drought." Golf World (June 30, 2000): 34.

Yocom, Guy. "My Shot." Golf Digest (May 2002): 124.

Other

Contemporary Authors Online. Gale, 2003. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Detroit: The Gale Group, 2003. http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioR (January 8, 2003).

"Lee Trevino." American Decades CD-ROM. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group, 2003. http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BioR (January 8, 2003).

"Lee Trevino." Golf Europe. http://www.golfeurope.com/almanac/players/trevino.htm (January 8, 2003).

"Lee Trevino." Professional Golf Association. http://www.pgatour.com (January 8, 2003).

Sketch by Kari Bethel