GOLF SENIORS AT INDIAN WELLS : Trevino Sputters, but Holds On to Win

Lee Trevino won his third Senior PGA tournament in the last four weeks Sunday at the Vintage Club, but it definitely was no breeze.

The magic putter that contributed to 11 consecutive sub-par rounds was just another putter in the final 18 holes of the 54-hole Chrysler Vintage Invitational.

By sinking an 18-inch putt on the last hole, Trevino posted a par 72 and a 205 total. When Don Massengale missed a 12-foot birdie try on the 18th, Trevino just needed to get down in two from the fringe--about 12 feet--and he did.

Trevino went into the final round with a three-shot lead, but finished only a stroke ahead of Massengale, Dale Douglass (67 on the final round), and Mike Hill (66). He earned $60,000 to increase his yearly total to $220,000. When he broke in on the regular tour it would have taken a dozen victories to earn that much.

Before becoming eligible for the 50 and over tour, Trevino said he expected to win four or five tournaments in his first year. The goal is practically a cinch. But calling his shot has made him cautious and he won’t make any predictions.

For the first time in a decade, Trevino has played competitively for seven weeks in a row. He started on the desert (the Bob Hope) and finished on the desert. He conceded it was almost a day too long.

“I’m tired,” he said. “It’s a good thing I’m taking the next two weeks off. I wouldn’t have won this tournament if I had had three or four players close going into the final round instead of just Don.

“I went out there trying for another round of four or five under, but my putting, which was so good the first two days, wasn’t today. If I had putted as well today, it would have been over by the 11th. Instead, it was a struggle.”

Trevino’s lead was four strokes when Massengale three-putted No. 1. But by the seventh hole, it was even. Trevino missed putts of three feet, two of eight feet and another of six feet. Massengale sank birdie putts of eight feet on No. 2, seven feet on No. 3 and eight feet on No. 7 to pull even.

They remained even until the 11th when the wind, which was missing the first two days, finally showed up. The 11th is a 185-yard par 3 with water on the right. There was a cross win blowing to the left. After Massengale hit a seven-iron to the left in the high grass, Trevino hit a six-iron right at the pin. He was three feet to the right of the pin.

The complexion changed when Massengale chipped to within four feet, but blew the putt. Trevino made his only birdie and the two-shot swing was just enough.

“I wasn’t even sure I could make that one,” Trevino said. “Until today I thought every putt would go in.”

Massengale also missed an eight-footer at 13, but he blamed his driving, not his putting.

“My driving was so erratic, I couldn’t be aggressive,” he said. “I spent the day trying for miracles.”

Mike Hill and Douglass, the winner here in 1986, made late charges, but they knew they didn’t have a chance when Trevino needed only a par on the 18th, a par 5 easy birdie hole.

“Lee has won three tournaments, but all have been by just one shot,” said Douglass, who lives in Phoenix and plays his best golf in California. “He is a great asset to our tour, but we are showing we can play with him. This is the best I’ve played this year. I’m ready for San Antonio.”

There will not be Trevino to contend with at San Antonio in two weeks. He will be resting.

It may be that Trevino will cause many of the seniors to rethink their preparations for tournaments. Traditionally, during a tournament, players will practice for more than an hour before tee-off time and another hour or so after the round. Not Trevino.

“I do my practicing when I’m home and not playing,” he said. “I usually go out on the course half an hour before my starting time. I will putt just a few, merely to get the feel of the putter. Then, I will hit a bucket of balls. I don’t practice after the round either. I go straight home and chase my daughter (Olivia, age 1) and my wife (Claudia, 32 in May) around the house. I can’t catch either one of them.”

Trevino will play in a non-tour event in Japan late in March, then return to the tour in the Tradition at Scottsdale. There he will renew his rivalry with Jack Nicklaus.

“It’s always great to go head-to-head with Jack,” Trevino said. “He brings out the best in me. I know he’ll be ready.

“I think he made the remark about marginal players winning over here just to stir things up. He loves a challenge.”

Golf Notes

Each year the Vintage honors a golfer for his contributions to the sport. The 1990 recipient is Gene Littler. Littler, who won the first Vintage in 1981 and also won in 1983, joins players such as Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer. . . . George Archer, who won 12 tournaments on the regular tour despite numerous physical problems, and his first on the senior tour after becoming eligible on Oct. 1, is having back problems again. He will go to Centinela Hospital today for an evaluation after finishing far behind with a 214.

Until this year the revenue came mainly from the amateurs, 200 of them who pay $5,000 for a chance to play four rounds, two of them with senior pros, and, the sponsor. That has changed with the record crowds. . . . The crowd Sunday was even bigger than Saturday’s. Most of the crowd followed and cheered Lee Trevino. On the senior tour there is now a Lee’s Legion to go with Arnie’s Army. . . . For the tournament there were 35 of the 54 golfers under par.