Lee Trevino - Humor

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." At the beginning of their 1971 playoff for the U.S. Open, he threw a rubber snake that his daughter had put in his bag as a joke, at Jack 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. The victory was part of a remarkable streak in which he won the U.S., British, and Canadian Open titles in a span of 20 days. In his early career, much attention was given by the press to a plastic "BandAid" he wore on his forearm to cover a tattoo of the name of his ex-wife. He has since had this tattoo removed by a plastic surgeon using a laser technique.

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 the 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 lighting delay to entertain the crowds, saying "I deserved to get hit...God can hit a 1-iron".

Trevino has also 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."

Trevino has called his wife, Claudia, "his rock." He also credits her with jumpstarting his career again when he considered retiring due to old age, saying "those clubs don't know how old you are."

Trevino had a cameo appearance in the 1996 comedy Happy Gilmore.