Lee Trevino: The Rapid Rise of a Rare Talent

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Of the 90 men who have enjoyed the thrill of winning The Open, Lee Trevino surely has one of the most unlikely and uplifting life stories to tell.

A two-time Champion Golfer of the Year, courtesy of back-to-back triumphs in 1971 and 1972, Trevino delighted British crowds with his magical shot-making and engaging personality.

To witness his successes at Royal Birkdale and Muirfield was to see a player totally at home on the links, blessed with the skills to thrive when taking on golf’s truest test.

Yet, remarkably, Trevino had no awareness of The Open only a decade prior to his first win. It is not an exaggeration to say lifting the Claret Jug was an achievement far beyond his own wildest dreams.

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Born in Texas in December 1939, Trevino was raised by his grandfather - a gravedigger from Monterrey, Mexico - amid humble surroundings on a cotton farm, with limited awareness of anything beyond his immediate locality.

“You have to understand that this was in the beginning of the 40s,” Trevino explained. “When people grew up in the woods or they grew up wherever, they had no idea that there was another side. We had no idea there was an England or Great Britain or Africa. We just knew what was in our neighbourhood.

“Raleigh, Texas had one grocery store and that was it. But we didn’t have any idea that we were poor. I didn’t realise that until I was probably 19 or 20.”

Either side of a four-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps from the age of 17, golf became Trevino’s primary area of focus, with his natural aptitude for the sport clearly apparent.

Such was his talent, Trevino had to devise a unique handicap in order to continue attracting opponents.

“I was almost making a living playing golf, but when you get to the point where you’re beating everyone, no one wants to play with you,” he explained.

“I had a par-3 course here in Dallas and the longest hole was 120 yards and the shortest hole was 50 yards. And I came up with the idea of playing with a (Dr Pepper) bottle. So it was a 32-ounce bottle, smooth, and the reason it was Dr Pepper is because it was a smooth bottle, Coca-Cola bottles are hourglass-shaped.

“So I took adhesive tape and I taped the neck and then I took a left-handed glove and I turned it inside out so I could put it on my right hand and then I could hold it. Then I would throw the ball up like you’re hitting a baseball with a bat, and I would throw it up and I would hit it.

“I could hit it high, I could hit it low. Now sometimes they would break, but not all the time. And I could hit it 100 yards, I could roll this ball 100 yards. Then I would turn it longways with the bottom of it and I would putt croquet-style, between my legs.

“How they handicapped me with the bottle is that I would play anyone, they could use their whole set, whatever they wanted. All I did was take the ties, in other words I got half a stroke a hole, so if I tied you on the hole I would win it.

“And I’m proud to say that I’m sitting here telling you that I played with this bottle for probably three years and never lost a match!”

By 1965, a 25-year-old Trevino was earning money through more orthodox golfing methods as he recorded his first professional victory at the Texas State Open.

Although he was only three years away from becoming a major champion, courtesy of his stunning breakthrough victory at the 1968 U.S. Open, Trevino was still totally unaware of the bright future that lay ahead of him.