Trevino Is Smiling Again After Surgery : Golf: He calls operation on his left thumb a success, says he hopes to rejoin senior tour this week.

There was a time late last year when Lee Trevino feared he was nearing the end of an illustrious golfing career.

His injured left thumb sometimes hurt so much that he couldn’t swing a golf club. And nobody seemed to know what to do about it. He was told by one specialist he needed to have it fused and would lose must of the use of the thumb. Another wanted to take a tendon out of his wrist and replace the damaged ligament.

But that was last year. Now, Trevino is laughing again. Soon, he hopes, he will rejoin the Senior PGA Tour, which he has led twice in the last three years, earning more than $1 million both times.

Kirk Watson of Hartford, Conn., the recognized authority on Trevino’s injury, performed surgery Dec. 15 to shorten the ligament.

“The doctor said that the thumb would be completely healed and that I could wear a brace and start hitting wedges, chips and do some putting right away,” Trevino said. “He said it would be sore for a few days, but I should be playing by Naples (the second regular tournament of the year in Florida this week). By time to go to Ojai (March 4-7), I should be in full swing.”

Trevino had to skip the Infiniti Tournament of Champions, the traditional season opener at La Costa, and the Senior Skins Game in Hawaii in late January.

At one time, Trevino thought he would be out of action for three months. His goal was to return for the Tradition in Scottsdale, Ariz., the first week in April.

“I thought they would have to take a tendon out of my wrist to replace the ligament,” Trevino said. “But Dr. Watson ruled out the tendon transplant, saying that in many cases it had to be replaced in a few years. The way he has done it gets me back quicker, and I should be as good as new.”

Trevino said that 1991, his second year on the 50-and-over tour, was a poor season. He won three tournaments and his $723,000 was fifth on the money list, but Trevino began last year determined to improve.

Beginning with the Tradition, he won four consecutive tournaments, including the Senior PGA and the Legends of Golf, in which he was paired with Mike Hill. After 15 events, Trevino had seven victories and was running away with the money title.

But the thumb began to bother him in June, and by July he had to choose between playing or practicing. He couldn’t do both. In the first indication that the injury was serious, he couldn’t play in the U.S. Senior Open in early July.

“The problem evolved gradually,” Trevino said. “But even after getting cortisone shots, it hurt too much to swing the club, and I had to withdraw from the open.

“I still had a chance to win the money title and the Cadillac series, in which the prize is three new cars. I figured that if I didn’t practice and did pick my spots, I could play enough to win the money title.”

Trevino played well enough to run his earnings to more than $1 million again. And when Jim Colbert faltered in the last tournament of the year, the Senior Tour Championship in Puerto Rico, Trevino also won the cars for the second time in three years.

What does he do with all those cars?

“I drive them,” he said, laughing.

Despite the injury, Trevino won most of the senior honors. He was the player of the year, won the Arnold Palmer Award for top money winner and the Byron Nelson for the lowest scoring average, 69.46 per round.

What can he do for an encore, even with a reconstructed thumb?

“I have a goal,” he said. “My goal is to prove that I can compete with Raymond Floyd. I feel certain I can.

“For the first time in months, I can go out to the driving range and work on my game. I am at the peak of my game, and I’ll soon be ready for Raymond.”