Bryan Angus June 28th
Being a baby boomer certainly has it’s advantages. We are supposed to be the most affluent generation of all time, we caught Elvis in his prime, were on the ground floor for the Beatles, Stones and a million other rockers, we watched Ali and Pele, and set our tv’s up outside to see Neil Armstrong step on the moon. We remember where we were when Henderson scored the winner, heck before that we got tired off walking up and down Bay Street with the Stanley Cup;the mini-skirt occupied a lot of our attention, colour tv came along, the Dating Game was essential viewing, as were the Olympics as Bob Beamon jumped nearly 30 feet and nobody even thought about drug testing. We actually thought we were winning the Vietnam War, and our beers were called red cap, dow, old vienna, and don’t forget “hey mabel, black label “.
The big three, Arnie Jack and Gary were putting golf on tv as a major spot, Doug Sanders dressed like a peacock, the US won every Ryder Cup until Seve came to the rescue, a black man called Lee Elder played in the Masters’, we went from lovingly polishing our persimmion woods with steel shafts, to buying metal woods that look like small Volkswagons with something NASA created in the shafts.
One of the downsides of being a “Boomer” however is that one by one we keep losing our golfing heroes. Jack’s farewell at St.Andrews put a lump in the throat of the most cynical, Arnies had me in tears, and Gary Player will probably join them after he beats Arnies record for appearances at the Masters next spring. However when the announcement came out this week that Lee Buck Trevino, my all time favourite, was replacing his Footjoys with his slippers at the end of October this year, i was saddened immediately.
Let there be no mistake, during the late 60’s and especially the early 70’s there was no bigger draw in golf than Lee Trevino, and the Senior Tour, god bless them, kept him front and central through the 80’s and 90’s.
From humble beginnings on the driving range in Dallas, Lee with his homemade swing that featured a fade, and his non stop chatter, quickly became a fan favourite. Throw in 4 years as a Marine, and suddenly we have an American hero..
He first grabbed my attention when he won the 68 US Open at Oak Hill when he became the first player to win the Open by shooting all4 rounds in the 60’s.. Then he beat Jack in an 18 hole playoff at Merion in ‘71, and went on to win back to back British Open Championships in 71 &72 He was then at his peak.
I can’t describe to you how big his win over Mr Lu was in 71 at Birkdale,but his chipin from the bunker at 17 at Muirfield in 72 when Tony Jacklin, a god at that time in British golf, missed his eagle from 12 feet,then missed his birdie,will go down in time as one of the most memorable moments in ‘OPEN” history.
Lee had a daily syndicated column called the Merry Mex in the British Tabloids,and we all read daily shot by shot of his exploits. He was the man!!!. I was there following my hero shot by shot, as was the rest of the golfing world..
He went on to win 29 pga tour events, including 3 canadian opens and 2 CPGA titles, 29 Senior Tour Titles and 12 other events around the world.
When he was in the Marines he married a girl called Anne and for years had her name roughly tattooed on his forearm. He played for a long time with a band aid on his forearm and that was because he had re-married to a girl called Claudia. Well he finally had ANNE surgically removed at Claudia’s request, only to divorce her, and marry his current beau.. that’s right Claudia. Lee jokes he wanted his current tattoo’s to say put !!!
I attended every British Open from 1971 til 1984, and Trevino was always the story, along with Jack and Arnie and the British hopeful. He was the most entertaining golfer I ever saw, he manufactured shots, described every putt and it’s problems, once Tony Jacklin, paired with Lee, on the first tee of the last round at St Andrew’s said to Tevino, “I don’t want to talk to you today”… and Lee said ” that’s greatTony, don’t talk,just listen !!”
In 1971 if you can believe it Lee won the US Open , The OPEN Championship and The Canadian Open along with a handful of others.. He went on to win 3 Canadian Opens and 2 CPGA’S in his Hall of Fame career.
Lee played at the University of Texas at El Paso, not on a scholarship but because of his friendship with Fairways own Ben Kern, and although I have tried unsuccessfully to get Lee for an interview, when I called his hotel and told him of Ben’s death, there was Lee on my voice answering sevice the next morning with the most eloquent eulogy you could imagine,which i played on Ben’s farewell show.
Lee Trevino will never be replaced on either tour. He was the ultimate hustler, always self depreciating, the tour’s trash talker,
with a game to match. His record speaks for itself .
I hope he finds time to return to the commentary booth, so we can weekly be rewarded with his salient and yes humerous and uniuque insights into his game of golf !!
Brian Angus is the senior producer at the Fan 590, he also produces The Morning Show and produces and co-hosts Fairways
Contact him at brian.angus@rci.rogers.com
THIS WEEK ON FAIRWAYS……. Saturday morning 7-8am
Bryan ,Scott and Bob are your hosts. Guests will include Mike Weir with his thoughts on Angus Glen, and the inside scoop on his year thus far, and we will talk with the newly appointed CEO of the RCGA..
I’m glad you qualified the headline by saying “golfing hero.” I was ready to fire up the flames when I saw the headline in my RSS reader.
- Going Like SixtyNice tribute to a guy that was always entertaining and sometimes spectacular.
I agree with you 100% All I would add is the greatness of the man is extended off the course. I remember when he retired his long time caddie-Herman. Lee was more concerned about his friend than Herman being an employee. I cried when I heard about his love for this 300+ lb man. But Lee was serious and he will always be a favorite in this Irishman’s life.
- gregory sullivan