Honored for Comeback in 1984 : Lee Trevino Is Back in Limelight, Bad Back and All

Lee Trevino is back in golf’s limelight despite the fact that he doesn’t practice anymore and prefers to play in the rain.

Trevino, one of the most popular veterans on the PGA tour and now a commentator on NBC Television as well, was named Comeback Golfer of the Year for 1984 in a vote by West Coast golf writers and sportscasters that was overseen by the Tournament of Champions committee at Rancho La Costa resort.

Speaking of the award, Trevino said, “Anything I achieve and anything I do on the positive side, I enjoy. I worship it . . . Simply because it could be worse.”

Trevino nearly faded away in the early 1980s, but with the stern encouragement of a new wife, he returned to the tour like a long-lost friend.

Trevino had his best money-winning season in four years in 1984, collecting $282,907. The highlight of the season was a 15-under-par 273 win in the PGA Championship at Shoal Creek.

Now starting his 12th year on the tour, Trevino was nearly forced to give up the game because of an ailing back. In 1976, a year after being hit by lightning at the Western Open, surgeons repaired a herniated disc. In 1981, a laser was used to deaden a nerve ending in the same area of his back. The ailments have restricted his playing time.

Following a dismal $34,000 season in 1981, Trevino began his slow climb back to the top.

The first step was to get married to his second wife, Claudia.

“I had, I think, a fantastic latter part of 1984,” said Trevino. “I don’t know what the reason was, but I think a lot of it had to do with my new wife.”

After Trevino shot a disappointing 76 in the opening round of the Tournament Players Championship, Claudia listened to Trevino’s dire tales about the difficulty of the Sawgrass course.

Unconvinced that Trevino could not do it, she told him she would have to see this 18-hole no-man’s land for herself.

“I went out the next day and shot a 66,” Trevino said. “She looked at me and said, ‘I don’t ever want to hear that you can’t play this game any more. And I don’t ever want to hear that you are too old to play this game any more. You just shot 66 on the most difficult golf course I have ever seen in my life, and you are playing all these other pitch-and-putts shooting 78s and 79s. You are using it as an excuse.”’

The message sunk in, Trevino said, and led to a 14-under score good enough for second place in the tournament. Trevino’s slump had come to an end.

Getting the hang of the hectic world of television hasn’t cut into Trevino’s practice time because he doesn’t practice.

After his second operation, Trevino’s doctor told him he his back would be fine if he quit practicing.

“I practice mentally now,” Trevino said. “I think a lot about the golf swing and the mechanics of it.”

Trevino, 45, believes he has another major tournament win left in him, but the elements will have to be on his side.

He plays his best when the weather is foul. The low-flying rockets he hits can stop on a dime when the grass is wet. If the greens are too dry, the ball tends to bound away from the pin.

“Every time I have caught a golf course in the mud, in a major championship, I’ve won it,” he said.

“I’m not going to quit,” he said. “I’m just praying for rain.”