Lee Trevino facts for kids

Quick facts for kids 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 85) Garland, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 7 in
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
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)	PGA Tour Champions Tour
Professional wins	92
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	29
European Tour	5
Japan Golf Tour	1
Sunshine Tour	1
PGA Tour of Australasia	1
Champions Tour	29 (3rd all-time)
Other	19 (regular) 10 (senior)
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 6)
The Masters Tournament	T10: 1975, 1985
U.S. Open	Won: 1968, 1971
The Open Championship	Won: 1971, 1972
PGA Championship	Won: 1974, 1984
Achievements and awards
World Golf Hall of Fame	1981
PGA Tour money list winner	1970
Vardon Trophy	1970, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1980
PGA Player of the Year	1971
Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year	1971
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year	1971
Byron Nelson Award	1980
Senior PGA Tour money list winner	1990, 1992
Senior PGA Tour Player of the Year	1990, 1992, 1994
Senior PGA Tour Rookie of the Year	1990
Senior PGA Tour Byron Nelson Award	1990, 1991, 1992

Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is an American retired professional golfer. Many people think he is one of the greatest golfers ever. He was added to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1981. Trevino won six major golf championships and 29 PGA Tour events. He is one of only four players to win the U.S. Open, The Open Championship, and the PGA Championship twice. The Masters Tournament was the only major championship he never won. He is a hero for Mexican Americans. Other golfers often called him "the Merry Mex" and "Supermex" because of his fun personality.

Lee Trevino's Early Life

Lee Trevino was born in Garland, Texas. His family came from Mexico. His mother, Juanita Trevino, and his grandfather, Joe Trevino, raised him. Joe was a gravedigger. Lee never knew his father, who left when Lee was very young.

As a child, Lee sometimes went to school. He also worked to help his family earn money. When he was only 5 years old, he started working in cotton fields.

Lee first learned about golf when his uncle gave him some golf balls and an old club. He spent his free time sneaking into golf courses nearby to practice. He started working as a caddie at the Dallas Athletic Club. A caddie carries golf clubs for players.

Lee left school at age 14 to work full-time. He earned $30 a week as a caddie and shoe shiner. He could also practice golf on three short holes behind the caddies' shack. After work, he would hit at least 300 golf balls. He often practiced from hard, dry ground in windy conditions. This helped him develop his special and strong golf swing. He was known for his controlled "fade" shot. People still remember him as one of the best shot-makers in golf history.

When Lee turned 17 in 1956, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He served for four years as a machine gunner. He left the Marines in 1960 as a corporal. During his time in the military, he played golf with Marine Corps officers. He played well in golf events for the Armed Forces in Asia. One of his rivals there was Orville Moody, who later joined him on the PGA Tour.

Lee Trevino's Golf Career

After leaving the Marines, Lee Trevino became a golf professional in El Paso, Texas. He also made money by playing golf for bets against other players. In 1966, he played in the U.S. Open. He finished 54th and earned $600.

In 1967, he played in the U.S. Open again. He finished fifth, earning $6,000. This allowed him to play on the PGA Tour for the rest of that year. He earned $26,472 as a rookie. Golf Digest magazine named him Rookie of the Year. Finishing fifth in the U.S. Open also meant he could play in the next year's event without having to qualify.

In 1968, his second year as a pro, Trevino won the U.S. Open. He won by four strokes over Jack Nicklaus. Trevino was the first player to score under 70 in all four rounds of a U.S. Open. Throughout his career, Trevino won 29 times on the PGA Tour. This included six major championships. He was at his best in the early 1970s. During this time, he was a main rival to Jack Nicklaus. He won the money title in 1970. He had six wins in 1971 and four wins in 1972.

Trevino had an amazing winning streak in 1971. He won three big tournaments in just 20 days. First, he beat Jack Nicklaus in a playoff to win the 1971 U.S. Open. Two weeks later, he won the Canadian Open. The next week, he won The Open Championship (British Open). He was the first golfer to win all three of these titles in the same year. For his achievements, he was named the top professional athlete of 1971. Sports Illustrated magazine also named him "Sportsman of the Year".

In 1972, Trevino won The Open Championship again. He was the first player to win it two years in a row since Arnold Palmer in 1962. In the final round, Trevino was tied for the lead with Tony Jacklin. On the 17th hole, Trevino chipped in from the rough for a par. Jacklin then three-putted and got a bogey. Trevino won the Open by one stroke over Nicklaus. He made four shots from off the greens during the tournament. Nicklaus had won the first two major tournaments that year. Trevino stopped him from winning a "grand slam." After his amazing chip shot on the 17th, Trevino famously said: "I'm the greatest chipper in the world."

In 1974, Trevino won the Greater New Orleans Open. He did not score any bogeys in that tournament. This was the only time this happened in a PGA Tour event until 2019. He also won his fifth major championship at the PGA Championship. He won by one stroke over Jack Nicklaus. This was the fourth and last time Nicklaus was second to Trevino in a major.

At the Western Open in 1975, Trevino was struck by lightning. He hurt his spine and had surgery. But back problems continued to bother him. Even so, he was ranked second in the world in 1980. He won three PGA Tour events in 1980. He also finished second to Tom Watson in the 1980 Open Championship.

When he was 44, Trevino won his sixth and final major. This was the PGA Championship in 1984. He was the first player to shoot all four rounds under 70 in this championship. He finished second the next year in 1985.

Tom Watson (left) with President Ronald Reagan and Trevino in 1988.

In the early 1980s, Trevino was second on the PGA Tour's all-time money list. Only Jack Nicklaus had earned more. From 1968 to 1981, Trevino won at least one PGA Tour event every year. This was a streak of 14 seasons. He also won over 20 other tournaments around the world.

Lee Trevino helped make the Senior PGA Tour (now called the PGA Tour Champions) very popular. He won 29 senior events, including four senior major championships. He earned the most money on the senior tour in 1990 and 1992.

Like many American golf stars, Trevino played a lot overseas. He won the Chrysler Classic in Australia in 1973. He also won the Casio World Open in Japan in 1981. Trevino also did very well in Europe. He won The Open Championship twice. He also won two other European Tour events. His last regular tour win was the British Masters in 1985.

From 1983 to 1989, he worked as a TV commentator for PGA Tour events on NBC. In 2014, Trevino became the "Golf Professional Emeritus" at The Greenbrier resort. This is a special role previously held by famous golfers like Sam Snead and Tom Watson.

The Masters Tournament

At the Masters Tournament in 1989, 49-year-old Trevino started with a great round. He shot a 67 with no bogeys. This made him the oldest player to lead the tournament after a round. This was surprising because twenty years earlier, after the 1969 event, he said he would never play there again. He said the course was not right for his style of play. He also said he felt uncomfortable with the atmosphere at Augusta National Golf Club.

Trevino did not accept invitations to the Masters in 1970, 1971, and 1974. In 1972, he even kept his golf shoes in his car trunk instead of using the clubhouse locker room. He complained that if he wasn't a player, the club wouldn't let him in except through the kitchen. But later, he said boycotting the Masters was "the greatest mistake I've made in my career." He called Augusta National "the eighth wonder of the world."

After his strong start in 1989, Trevino finished tied for eighteenth. His best result at the Masters was tied for tenth place in 1975 and 1985.

Achievements and Awards

• Trevino was the first player to shoot all four rounds under par at the U.S. Open. He did this at Oak Hill in 1968.
• A major street in El Paso, Texas is named Lee Trevino Drive in his honor. Streets in New Mexico are also named after him.
• He received the 1971 BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year Award.
• He is one of only two golfers to win the PGA Tour's three oldest events in the same year. He won The Open Championship, the U.S. Open, and the Canadian Open in 1971. Tiger Woods also did this in 2000.
• Trevino played for the United States in the Ryder Cup six times. He had a great record of 17 wins, 7 losses, and 6 ties. He was also the team captain in 1985.
• Trevino won the Vardon Trophy five times. This award is for the golfer with the lowest average score.
• He has created many scholarships and financial help for 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.

Lee Trevino's Humor

Lee Trevino was known for being friendly and funny throughout his career. Reporters often quoted his jokes. Late in his career, he said, "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."

At the start of his 1971 U.S. Open playoff against Jack Nicklaus, Trevino playfully threw a rubber snake at Nicklaus. His daughter had put the snake in his golf bag as a joke. Nicklaus laughed, and Trevino went on to win the playoff.

During one tournament, Tony Jacklin told Trevino, "Lee, I don't want to talk today." Trevino quickly replied, "I don't want you to talk. I just want you to listen."

Trevino also had a funny appearance in the movie Happy Gilmore. He played a golfer who shook his head at Happy's angry outbursts. His only spoken line was a funny comeback to the movie's bad guy. Trevino later said he regretted being in the movie because of all the bad language.

After he was struck by lightning in 1975, a reporter asked Trevino what he would do if it stormed again. Trevino said he would hold up his 1-iron club to the sky. He joked, "because not even God can hit a 1-iron." He later said he might have "tempted God" by staying outside during a lightning delay to entertain fans. He admitted, "I deserved to get hit...God can hit a 1-iron."

Trevino once 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."

Major Championship Wins

Lee Trevino won 6 major championships during his career.

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).

Major Championship Results

Here's how Lee Trevino did in major championships over the years.

     Win      Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Summary of Major Results

Lee Trevino played in 90 major championships and made the cut in 70 of them.

• He made the cut in 16 major championships in a row.
• He had a streak of two top-10 finishes seven times.

The Players Championship

Wins (1)

Lee Trevino won The Players Championship once.

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

Here's how Lee Trevino did in The Players Championship.

     Win      Top 10      Did not play CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.

Champions Tour Major Championships

Wins (4)

Lee Trevino won four major championships on the Champions Tour (for senior golfers).

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

Lee Trevino represented the United States in several team golf events. Professional

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

Images for kids

• 

  Tom Watson (left) with President Ronald Reagan and Trevino in 1988.

See also

In Spanish: Lee Trevino para niños

• 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