Professional Career
After his discharge, Trevino became a club professional in El Paso, Texas. He made extra money by gambling for stakes in head-to-head matches. He began play on the PGA Tour in 1967. In his second U.S. Open golf championship, he shot 283, eight shots behind champion Jack Nicklaus, and earned $6,000 for finishing fifth. The high finish earned him Tour privileges for the rest of that 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.
In 1968, his second year on the circuit, Trevino won the U.S. Open at the Oak Hill Country Club, in Rochester, New York; Nicklaus was second. 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 ten wins in 1971 and 1972. These included the 1971 U.S. Open, which he took in an 18-hole playoff over Jack Nicklaus. Two weeks later, he won the Canadian Open (the first of three), and the following week The Open Championship (British Open), the first 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.
He was struck by lightning at the 1975 Western Open, 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, and won his sixth major, the 1984 PGA Championship at the age of 44. In the early 1980s, Trevino was second on the PGA Tour career money list, behind only Jack Nicklaus. From 1968 to 1981 inclusive, Trevino won at least one PGA Tour event a year, a streak of 14 seasons.
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 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.
Read more about this topic: Lee Trevino
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