Even Trevino Surprised by His Senior Success

Chi Chi Rodriguez said Lee Trevino would be “the next Jesse James” when he started play on the Senior PGA Tour.

But Chi Chi or the Merry Mex himself could have conceived what the Hall of Famer has accomplished in five months on the over-50 circuit.

Four wins. A second. One finish out of the top seven in 10 starts. Leader in five of 10 statistical categories, including earnings of $340,133. And all achieved on courses, except one, that he hadn’t played.

Even train robbers never had it so easy.

“I thought I would have some success, but I didn’t know how soon it would come,” Trevino said after matching the course record 7-under-par 63 Thursday in the final pro-am tuneup for the NYNEX-Golf Digest Commemorative, which begins Friday at Sleepy Hollow Country Club.

“I was ready for the Senior Tour, went to work on my game for 5 1/2 months before the first tournament, but there was a tremendous amount of pressure because of a lot of things said and a lot of publicity that I was coming out here (Tour) and going to do this and that.

“I’m surprised I won four times. I thought I’d win a couple by now, but I never thought I’d win four.”

Trevino said it has a lot to do with winning so soon. After tying for seventh in his December debut in the Kaanapali (Hawaii) Classic, he won the season-opener (the Royal Caribbean) when he overcame a five-stroke deficit to Jim Dent on the final three holes.

“I don’t think I would have done this well if I didn’t win the first one quickly. That’s the one that opened up the floodgates,” Trevino said. “I was surprised to win, but when I did, it relieved all the pressure, it turned me loose. The longer I would have gone without winning, the more difficult it would have been.”

The only playing difficulty Trevino has encountered has been in The Tradition, a course he’d played once and designed by Jack Nicklaus, the Senior Tour’s other newest celebrity. Trevino finished 24th, claiming the course did him in.

“I don’t like Augusta National-type courses where you have to hit the ball high and soft,” Trevino said. “I’ve never done well on stadium golf courses because I don’t like courses that predict what club I have to hit. If I’m 200 yards away, I should be able to hit any club I want.”

That’s nothing against Nicklaus, whom Trevino calls a close friend and the greatest golfer in history. Trevino still asks his wife, Wethersfield native Claudia Bove, to send a dozen roses to Barbara Nicklaus every week Jack doesn’t play, but he also insists there’s never been a rivalry.

“We’ve always had mutual respect for each other, but the only thing special is that he’s the guy I want to beat,” Trevino said. “But I also want to beat the guy who’s leading. Forget beating Nicklaus if he’s not the one leading.”

Consistently beating Senior Tour players resulted in one problem.

“Not mentioning any names, I think some players may have felt some resentment at first,” Trevino said. “But once I offered a few tips and had a few beers and shot the breeze in the locker room, the guys have accepted me.

“And, besides, this is the Senior Tour, where the same top guys aren’t going to be around in eight years. We should welcome new players and promote competition. I think it was Don Bies who said I made others bring up their level of play a notch and practice a little more.”

Trevino has been slowed only by the 3 1/2 hours of arthroscopic surgery Dr. Frank Jobe performed on his right knee May 7. Trevino said the knee hurt “like an ice cream headache,” but the removal of a benign cyst and medication have alleviated the pain.

In his first start after the operation, he won the Doug Sanders Kingwood Celebrity Classic, and finished sixth Sunday in the Bell Atlantic Classic.

“The only thing I can’t do is squat down to read a putt,” Trevino said. “But that’s fine with me. I’ve played golf 42 years, and feel is the most important thing.”

And the man who won 27 tournaments and $3.5 million on the PGA Tour (plus the British Open twice) feels good about what he has seen and achieved on the Senior Tour.

“It’s more a low-key tour, not on the fast lane like the regular Tour,” Trevino said. “They (sponsors) treat us like royalty out here.”

Despite his success, Trevino claims it hasn’t been a leisurely walk down the fairway.

“When I saw the scores they were shooting, I thought they were playing pitch-and-putt golf courses. But that’s not the case,” Trevino said. “There are some good players out here, and a lot of them are playing better than they did on the regular Tour. A lot of it has to do with the shafts, the ball and everything else, but I actually think they’re better players.

“And I’ve got a completely different attitude. I played 11 (regular Tour) tournaments last year and didn’t think I could win. I thought I could make the cut in some of them and possibly shoot some good rounds, but I didn’t think I could hold on for four rounds because there’s too much depth over there.

“This tour reminds me of when I came out in 1967. You had to beat maybe 10-15 guys then, and it’s the same thing now. You can’t beat these guys every day, every week. No way. I’d like to, but you can’t do it.”

It only seems that way.