ORLANDO – When Lee Trevino, a six-time major winner and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, began preparing to compete at this year’s PNC Championship in Orlando, he topped several balls while practicing on the range. Was the ball-striker who is arguably the best in the world lifting his head to hit the ball? Say it’s not so.
Trevino stated, “I can’t remember ever doing anything like this in my entire life.”
Daniel Smith, a renowned golf instructor who trains world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Trevino had made a vow years ago to never take a lesson from anyone he couldn’t beat. Trevino called Smith, and when Smith answered he asked: “Have 15 minutes to take a look at me?” I think you’re going to beat me.
The lesson was helpful. Trevino told the Subpar Podcast that he shot 82 and made nine pars in a Dallas National fundraiser five weeks earlier.
Daniel asked. You’ve surpassed your age.
Trevino is 84 and calls the PNC Championship “his major”. He talks about it throughout the year. He has played in each edition since 1995, when 10 major champions gathered together with their sons. He has assumed the role as the elder statesman of the field, which now features 20 major champions and their families competing for the Willie Park Trophy. The waitlist to enter the field is long.
Trevino said, “It is like trying to qualify for Augusta.”
It’s fascinating that he mentions the Masters as the only major he has never won. The PNC Championship is another major he hasn’t won, but his family gathering shows how important familial ties have become to him.
Trevino did not know his father, and this absence affected Trevino’s life outlook. He was raised in a home where there were few encouraging words and often reenacted his childhood with his children. He said, “I gave them a roof over their head but I didn’t show them love.” “I was a screaming.” I would drink a few beers, and then get crazy with my kids.”
Rick Trevino, Trevino’s oldest son, said in an article written by a magazine that his father flew in to see him in Green City Missouri, where Rick and Linda Trevino lived. They would also speak on the phone every month or so, but they did not have a very close relationship. Rick Trevino, his oldest son, recalled in a first-person magazine article that his father would fly in to visit him once or twice a year, and they’d speak by phone every month or two, but otherwise, the relationship was not very strong. Lesley, Tony and Troy – his children from a second marriage – grew up in a home where their father was seldom present. He was gone for eight weeks in a row. In a Sports Illustrated article, Trevino once was asked if Tony Trevino had grown to resent the absence of his father. Trevino replied, “I believe so. And I don’t fault him.”
“My wives have raised four children that I didn’t know. I didn’t know who they were. I did not attend a high-school basketball game or recital. “I went to the graduation and that was it,” he told me. “Before i knew it, the kids were all grown up and gone.”
Trevino gives Jack Nicklaus credit for showing a better method. He recalled working with Nicklaus in 1971 at the World Cup, held in Palm Beach Gardens (Florida). Trevino suggested they go to the range after they had finished their practice round. Nicklaus, however, had other plans. Jackie, his oldest child, was playing in a high-school football game. Trevino joined Nicklaus in the stadium. Trevino stated, “Never in a million years would I ever have done that.”
Trevino only learned to imitate Nicklaus later in his life.
Trevino said of Nicklaus, “Golf wasn’t his life. He made it his living.” Trevino was speaking to Golf Digest Dave Shedlodski. “I put my golf first and he showed me it was a mistake. I’m now a better dad than I was ever before. Jack has had a profound impact on my life. “It says a great deal that it has absolutely nothing to do golf.”
Olivia and Daniel Trevino, the youngest children of Trevino, benefited from their father’s epiphany. Third time’s the charm. He made his family, including his third wife Claudia Bove, a priority. Nothing stood in his way of spending time with Olivia born in 1989 and Daniel four years later. Trevino said, “I was given a second chance.” “I used to be a father, but I wasn’t a dad.”
Lee Trevino, United States, reacts to a putt made by a pro-am at the second hole before the PNC Championship in Orlando on December 14, 2023. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images).
Trevino played with Tony alternately in odd-numbered years, and Rick alternately in even-numbered years in the early years. Since 2006, when Daniel made his debut, there has been no rotation. Trevino’s pride as a parent grows whenever he speaks about playing golf alongside Daniel. Trevino told me, “You can’t divide us.” “He will reap the benefits of all my neglect towards my other children.”
Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin and other contemporaries have stopped competing in this father-son tournament. Trevino, however, shows no sign of quitting, even though his knees might ache. According to the tournament’s founder, Alastair Johnston has granted him a lifetime exemption.
Johnston stated, “He has supported me from the start and I have told him that he can return for as long as he wants.” I’ve kept to my word.
Team Trevino continues to roll on. Two years ago they were in the lead after four holes, but finished T-3.
Trevino explained that as soon as they board the plane to return home, they begin to reminisce about the mistakes made and the things we should work on next year. “We talk all year about it.”
