American · Dallas, USA · Born 1 December 1939American golfer nicknamed 'Supermex' who won six major championships and 29 PGA Tour events, but never won the Masters.
Lee Buck Trevino was born on 1 December 1939 near Dallas, Texas, and never knew his father, being raised by his mother, Juanita, and maternal grandfather, Joe, a gravedigger, in a three-room shack with no plumbing in east Dallas. He began working in the cotton fields at five, and his uncle gave him his first golf club and balls, sparking a lifelong passion. Trevino dropped out of school at 14 to become a full-time caddie at the Dallas Athletic Club, practising for hours on a makeshift three-hole course behind the caddie shack, before joining the U.S. Marine Corps at 17, where he continued to develop his game playing with officers. Trevino, nicknamed "The Merry Mex" and "Supermex" for his Mexican-American heritage and quick wit, joined the PGA Tour in 1967 and won the U.S. Open the following year at Oak Hill, becoming the first player to shoot all four rounds in the 60s at the championship. Trevino won six major championships in total, including a remarkable 20-day stretch in 1971 in which he won the U.S. Open, Canadian Open, and Open Championship in succession, and became an icon for Mexican Americans in the sport, closing out his major championship career with a sixth title at the 1984 PGA Championship at 44.
6-time major champion; one of only four players to win the US Open, Open Championship, and PGA Championship twice each
He was struck by lightning during the 1975 Western Open and competed through the spinal injuries it caused for the rest of his career.
Did You Know?How They Played
Unorthodox swing with exceptional ball-striking ability
Lasting Impact
One of golf's greatest ball-strikers and most entertaining players
Career Honours
- US Open 1968, 1971
- Open Championship 1971, 1972
- PGA Championship 1974, 1984
- World Golf Hall of Fame 1981
American Athletes