Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is a Mexican American professional golfer who won six major championships 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 only major that eluded him was the Masters. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as “The Merry Mex” and “Supermex”.[1]
Professional career
After his discharge, Trevino became a club professional in El Paso, Texas, and made extra money by gambling for stakes in head-to-head matches. He qualified for the U.S. Open in 1966, made the cut, and tied for 54th, earning $600. He qualified again in 1967 and shot 283 (+3), eight shots behind champion Jack Nicklaus, and only four behind runner-up Arnold Palmer. Trevino earned $6,000 for finishing fifth, which earned him Tour privileges for the rest of the 1967 season. He won $26,472 as a rookie, 45th on the PGA Tour money list, and was named Rookie of the Year by Golf Digest. The fifth place finish at the U.S. Open also earned him an exemption into the following year’s event.
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. 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 spell during a span of 20 days 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“[3] 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 and fell just short in the third leg of the grand slam.[4] After holing his chip shot on the 17th in the final round, Trevino said: “I’m the greatest chipper in the world.”[5]
In the PGA Championship in 1974, Trevino won the fifth of his six major championships. He won the title by a stroke, again over Nicklaus, the fourth and final time he was a runner-up in a major to Trevino.
At the Western Open near Chicago in 1975, Trevino was struck by lightning 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.[6] 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.[7] From 1968 to 1981 inclusive, Trevino won at least one PGA Tour event a year, a streak of 14 seasons. In addition to his PGA Tour victories, Trevino 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 Champions Tour) an early success. He claimed 29 senior wins, including four senior majors. He topped the seniors’ money list in 1990 and 1992.
From 1983 to 1989 Trevino worked as a color analyst for PGA Tour coverage on NBC television.
Source: Wikipedia