Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Treviņo was born in Dallas Texas on 1st December 1939, to parents of Mexican descent and never knew his father. He was raised by his mother and his grandfather, who was a gravedigger. Treviņo's childhood amounted to him spending time attending school occasionally and working to help earn money for the family. At the age of five, Lee was working in the cotton fields.
Treviņo was introduced to the game of golf when his uncle gave him a few old golf balls and a rusty golf club. He spent most of his free time sneaking into nearby country clubs to practice his newly found activity. At eight years old he began caddying at a local golf course, sometimes attending school, but more often working or practicing golf . A few years later, caddying became a full time job when he needed to earn enough money to survive, and so after eighth grade he left school. As a caddy and a shoe shiner, Treviņo worked for 30 US dollars a week. At the same time he was able to practice his golf, because the caddies had three short practice holes behind their shack, and it was there, with old, discarded clubs, that Treviņo honed his skills. He did this by hitting literally millions of golf balls.
At age 17, Trevino joined the Marines and served four years. Following his discharge, he returned to golf, becoming a club pro in 1960. In 1967, he began playing on the PGA Tour, and played in his first U.S. Open golf championship. He shot a 283, eight shots behind champion Jack Nicklaus, and earned $6,000 for finishing fifth. He won the U.S. Open in 1968, and from then until around 1974 was a dominant force. He won all but one of his six majors during that span, and four scoring titles. His 1971 U.S. Open victory is his best-known, as he defeated Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole play off for the win. Then 2 weeks later, he won the Canadian Open and the following week The British Open, making him the only player to win three national titles in the same year, and he was rewarded the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of 1971.
Trevino was nearly killed when he was struck by lightning during a tournament in 1975 suffering injuries to his spine and back. These injuries lingered, and he underwent surgery to remove a damaged spinal disk; but back problems continued to restrict his play. However, he recovered sufficiently to win his fifth Vardon Trophy in 1980, and while he did not quite return to his early 1970s prime, he remained one of the world's leading players for more than another decade. The 1984 PGA Championship was his final major at the unusually advanced age of 44, and was his final PGA Tour victory. In the early 1980s he was second on the PGA Tour career money list, behind Jack Nicklaus.
Treviņo played for the United States in the Ryder Cup six times (1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1981) He also served as team captain in 1985.
Trevino was just as good on the Senior Tour, winning 29 times and topped the senior money list in 1990 and 1992.
Trevino is considered one of the best and most creative ballstrikers the game has ever seen, and was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.
He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "The Merry Mex". He has never forgotten his humble beginnings and has established numerous scholarships and continues to offer assistance to many Mexican Americans who are less fortunate.
Lee Trevino rose up from a hardscrabble youth to become one of the greatest golfers of his time, or any time. He was seen as one of the more approachable and humorous of PGA golfers for comments such as:
"You can make a lot of money in this game. Just ask my ex-wives. Both of them are so rich that neither of their husbands work."
"If you are caught on a golf course during a storm and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God can hit a 1-iron."
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