Lee Trevino Info

Lee Trevino was one of the other greats of the Jack Nicklaus era in PGA Tour history, a 6-time major champion whose career was interrupted by injuries suffered after he was struck by lightning. Despite that, Trevino's achievements place him among the game's greats.

Date of birth: Dec. 1, 1939
Place of birth: Dallas, Texas
Nickname: Merry Mex

Tour Victories

• PGA Tour: 29 (view list)
• Champions Tour: 29 (view list)

Major Championships

6

• U.S. Open: 1968, 1971
• British Open: 1971, 1972
• PGA Championship: 1974, 1984

Awards and Honors

• Member, World Golf Hall of Fame
• PGA Tour money leader, 1970
• PGA Vardon Trophy winner (low scoring average), 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1980
• PGA Tour Player of the Year, 1971
• Member, U.S. Ryder Cup team, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1981
• Captain, U.S. Ryder Cup team, 1985

Famous Quotations

• Lee Trevino: "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."

• Lee Trevino: "There is no such thing as a natural touch. Touch is something you create by hitting millions of golf balls."

• Lee Trevino: "You can talk to a fade but a hook won't listen."

More Lee Trevino Quotes

Trivia

Lee Trevino was the first golfer to win the U.S. Open, Canadian Open and British Open in the same year. Trevino did so in 1971. Only Tiger Woods has accomplished the feat since.

Lee Trevino Biography

Lee Trevino rose up from a hardscrabble youth to become one of the greatest golfers of his time, or any time. He did it by hitting millions of golf balls, and he did it with an on-course smile and a wit rarely matched in golf history.

Trevino was born into poverty and never knew his father. He was raised by his mother and his grandfather, a gravedigger. Lee began working at a very early age, toiling in the Texas cotton fields as young as age 5.

But when an uncle gave him a rusty golf club and a few beat-up balls, the young Trevino found his calling. He began caddying at age eight, sometimes attending school but more often working or practicing golf.

At age 17, Trevino joined the Marines and served four years. Following his discharge, he returned to golf, becoming a club pro in 1960. While at an El Paso club in the mid-1960s, the then-unknown Trevino battled the already famous Ray Floyd over three titanic days in one of the most legendary gambling matches in golf history. They came out even.

Trevino found his way onto the PGA Tour in 1967, and quickly established himself as one of the best. He won the 1968 U.S. Open, 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 playoff for the win. Trevino nipped Nicklaus again at the 1972 British Open, the second of his back-to-back wins there.

Trevino was nearly killed when he was struck by lightning during a tournament in 1975. The injuries he suffered lingered, including back problems, but he recovered to win another Vardon Trophy in 1980. The 1984 PGA Championship was his final major and final PGA Tour victory.

Trevino was just as good on the Champions Tour, winning 29 times - the same number of wins he had on the PGA Tour and the second-most in the history of the senior tour.

Trevino is considered one of the best ballstrikers, and one of the most creative ballstrikers, the game has ever seen. He aligned left of his target and faded the ball, and was amazingly consistent at placing the ball right where he wanted it.

Lee Trevino was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981.

Here is the list of golf tournaments won by Lee Trevino on the PGA Tour and Champions Tour. He won 29 times on each tour.

Trevino's PGA Tour Victories

1968
U.S. Open
Hawaiian Open

1969
Tucson Open Invitational

1970
Tuscon Open Invitational
National Airlines Open Invitational

1971
Tallahassee Open Invitational
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
U.S. Open
Canadian Open
British Open
Sahara Invitational

1972
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
British Open
Greater Hartford Open Invitational
Greater St. Louis Golf Classic

1973
Jackie Gleason Inverrary-National Airlines Classic
Doral-Eastern Open

1974
Greater New Orleans Open Invitational
PGA Championship

1975
Florida Citrus Open

1976
Colonial National Invitation

1977
Canadian Open

1978
Colonial National Invitation

1979
Canadian Open

1980
Tournament Players Championship
Danny Thomas Memphis Classic
San Antonio Texas Open

1981
MONY Tournament of Champions

1984
PGA Championship

Trevino's Champions Tour Wins

1990
Royal Caribbean Classic
Aetna Challenge
Vintage Chrysler Invitational
Doug Sanders Kingwood Celebrity Classic
NYNEX Commemorative
U.S. Senior Open
Transamerica Senior Golf Championship

1991
Aetna Challenge
Vantage at The Dominion
Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic

1992
Vantage at The Dominion
The Tradition
PGA Seniors Championship
Las Vegas Senior Classic
Bell Atlantic Classic

1993
Cadillac NFL Golf Classic
Nationwide Championship
Vantage Championship

1994
Royal Caribbean Classic
PGA Seniors Championship
PaineWebber Invitational
Bell Atlantic Classic
BellSouth Senior Classic at Opryland
Northville Long Island Classic

1995
Northville Long Island Classic
The Transamerica

1996
Emerald Coast Classic

1998
Southwestern Bell Dominion

2000
Cadillac NFL Classic