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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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
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. His rounds of 69-68-69-69 was the first time 70 was broken in all 4 rounds of a U.S. Open. 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 1971 U.S. Open. Two weeks later, he won the Canadian Open (the first of three), and the following week won The Open Championship (British Open), becoming the first player to win those three titles in the same year. Trevino was awarded the Hickok Belt as the top professional athlete of 1971. He also won Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" and was named ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year.
In 1972 at Muirfield in Scotland, Trevino became the first player to successfully defend The Open Championship since Arnold Palmer in 1962. In a remarkable third round at Muirfield, Trevino had five consecutive birdies from the 14th through the 18th, holing a bunker shot on the 16th and sinking a 30–foot chip on the 18th for a round of 66. In the final round, Trevino was tied for the lead on the 17th tee with Tony Jacklin. Trevino chipped in from rough on the back of the green for a par on the 17th. A shaken Jacklin three-putted the same hole from 15 feet for a bogey. Trevino parred the 18th hole for a final round of 71, winning him the Open by a stroke over Nicklaus, with Jacklin finishing third. Trevino holed out four times from off the greens during the tournament. Nicklaus had won the first two majors of the year (Masters, U.S. Open) and fell just short in the third leg of the grand slam. After holing his chip shot on the 17th in the final round, Trevino said: "I'm the greatest chipper in the world."
In 1974, Trevino won the Greater New Orleans Open without scoring any bogeys, the only time it had happened in a PGA Tour individual event until J. T. Poston accomplished the feat at the 2019 Wyndham Championship. At the PGA Championship he won the fifth of his six major championships. He won the title by a stroke, again over Nicklaus, the fourth and final time Nicklaus was a runner-up in a major to Trevino. At the Western Open near Chicago in 1975, Trevino was Lightning strike, and suffered injuries to his spine. He underwent surgery to remove a damaged spinal disk, but back problems continued to hamper his play. Nevertheless, he was ranked second in McCormack's World Golf Rankings in 1980 behind Tom Watson. Trevino had 3 PGA Tour wins in 1980 and finished runner-up to Tom Watson in the 1980 Open Championship. At the age of 44, Trevino won his sixth and final major at the PGA Championship in 1984, with a 15-under-par score of 273, becoming the first player to shoot all four rounds under 70 in the PGA Championship. He was the runner-up the following year in 1985, attempting to become the first repeat champion since Denny Shute in 1937.
In the early 1980s, Trevino was second on the PGA Tour's career money list, behind only Nicklaus. 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.
Like many American stars of the era, Trevino played a considerable amount overseas. Early in his career he played sporadically on the Australasian Tour. He finished runner-up in the 1969 and 1970 Dunlop International and ultimately won down under at the 1973 Chrysler Classic. He also won an event on the Japan Golf Tour, the Casio World Open in 1981. Trevino also had a great deal of success in Europe. Among his greatest triumphs were at the 1971 Open Championship and 1972 Open Championship. Trevino was also invited to play at the very prestigious (though unofficial) Piccadilly World Match Play Championship three times (1968, 1970, 1972). He reached the finals twice. His most notable performance probably came in 1970 when he defeated defending Masters champion Billy Casper in the quarterfinals and defending PGA champion Dave Stockton in the semifinals. He also won two regular European Tour events late in his career at 1978 Benson & Hedges International Open and 1985 Dunhill British Masters. In fact, his last regular tour win was at the British Masters. Additionally, he finished runner-up at three European Tour events: the 1980 Bob Hope British Classic, 1980 Open Championship, and the 1986 Benson & Hedges International Open.
From 1983 to 1989, he worked as a color analyst for PGA Tour coverage on NBC television. In 2014 Trevino was named "Golf Professional Emeritus" at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, a position previously held by Sam Snead and Tom Watson.
Trevino did not accept invitations to the Masters in 1970, 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."
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).
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.
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."
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.
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."
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."
PGA Tour playoff record (5–5)
European Tour playoff record (1–1)
Senior PGA Tour playoff record (3–3)
CUT = missed the halfway cut
CUT = missed the halfway cut
Distinctions and honors
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." (2025). 9781602390140, Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 9781602390140
Professional wins (92)
PGA Tour wins (29)
Major championships (6) Players Championships (1) Other PGA Tour (22) 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 Wolff8 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 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 WeiskopfWeiskopf 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)
Major championships (3) Other European Tour (2) 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 1 1978 Benson & Hedges International Open Neil Coles, Noel Ratcliffe Won with par on fourth extra hole
Ratcliffe eliminated by par on first hole2 1986 Benson & Hedges International Open Hugh Baiocchi, Mark James James won with birdie on first extra hole
PGA of Japan Tour wins (1)
1 Nov 29, 1981 Casio World Open 68-67-71-69=275 −13 4 strokes Isao Aoki
Southern Africa Tour wins (1)
1 Feb 7, 1981 Sun City Classic 72-64-72-73=281 −7 1 stroke Mark McNulty
PGA Tour of Australia wins (1)
1 Nov 4, 1973 Chrysler Classic 68-72-69-68=277 −15 4 strokes Stewart Ginn
Canadian Tour wins (2)
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)
Senior PGA Tour wins (29)
Senior PGA Tour major championships (4) Other Senior PGA Tour (25)
*Note: The 1991 Vantage at The Dominion was shortened to 36 holes due to rain.
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 Massengale4 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 Rodríguez6 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 Thompson10 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 Thompson18 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 Stockton28 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 1 1990 NYNEX Commemorative Mike Fetchick, Jimmy Powell,
Chi-Chi RodríguezWon with birdie on fifth extra hole
Powell and Rodríguez eliminated by birdie on first hole2 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 StocktonWon 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)
Major championships
Wins (6)
1Defeated Jack Nicklaus in 18-hole playoff; Trevino 68 (−2), Nicklaus 71 (+1).
Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus Lu Liang-Huan Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus Gary Player, Lanny Wadkins
Results timeline
Masters Tournament T40 T19 U.S. Open T54 5 1 CUT The Open Championship T34 PGA Championship T23 T48 Masters Tournament T33 T43 T10 T28 T14 T12 U.S. Open T8 1 T4 T4 CUT T29 T27 T12 T19 The Open Championship T3 1 1 T10 T31 T40 4 T29 T17 PGA Championship T26 T13 T11 T18 1 T60 CUT T13 T7 T35 Masters Tournament T26 CUT T38 T20 43 T10 47 CUT CUT T18 U.S. Open T12 CUT CUT T9 CUT T4 CUT T40 CUT The Open Championship 2 T11 T27 5 T14 T20 T59 T17 CUT T42 PGA Championship 7 DQ T14 1 2 T11 CUT CUT Masters Tournament T24 T49 U.S. Open CUT The Open Championship T25 T17 T39 CUT CUT CUT PGA Championship CUT
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Summary
17 15 22 16
The Players Championship
Wins (1)
Ben Crenshaw
Results timeline
The Players Championship 18 T50 T17 WD T5 1 T12 DQ T68 2 T55 T21 CUT
WD = withdrew
DQ = disqualified
"T" indicates a tie for a place.
Champions Tour major championships
Wins (4)
Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus Mike Hill Jim Colbert
U.S. national team appearances
Professional
See also
Further reading
External links
Categories: American Male Golfers, Pga Tour Golfers, Pga Tour Champions Golfers, Ryder Cup Competitors For The United States, Winners Of Men's Major Golf Championships, Winners Of Senior Major Golf Championships, World Golf Hall Of Fame Inductees, American Golf Commentators, Golfers From Dallas, Bbc Sports Personality World Sport Star Of The Year Winners, United States Marine Corps Non-commissioned Officers, Military Personnel From Texas, Hispanic And Latino American Military Personnel, American Sportspeople Of Mexican Descent, 1939 Births, Living People, 20th-century American Sportsmen
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