Lee Trevino was born in Dallas, Texas in poverty to parents of Mexican descent. His mother and grandfather, a gravedigger, raised Trevino. He never knew his father. Trevino's childhood amounted to him spending time attending school occasionally and working to help earn money for the family. At the age of five, Lee started working in the cotton fields.
Trevino was introduced to the game of golf when his uncle gave him a few old golf balls and a rusty golf club. From this point on, Lee could not get enough. He spent most of his free time sneaking into nearby country clubs to practice his newly found activity. At eight years old he began caddying at a local golf course. However, a few years later, caddying became a full time job because he needed to earn enough money to survive.
Caddies had three short practice holes behind their shack, and it was there, with old, discarded clubs, that Trevino learned to improve his golf game. For years, every day after work, he would work on improving his skills by hitting a least 300 balls a session. At seventeen, Trevino joined the United States Marine Corps and served four years. Over the last eighteen months in the service, a great deal of his time was spent playing golf with Marine Corps officers.
After his discharge, Trevino continued his pursuit of the game. In 1967, he began playing on the PGA Tour, that year he played in his first U.S. Open golf championship, he shot a 283, eight shots behind champion Jack Nicklaus, and earned $6,000 for finishing fifth. Over the course of his career, Trevino won 29 times on the PGA Tour, including six majors. He was at his best in the early 1970s, when for a time he was Jack Nicklaus's biggest rival, winning the money list title in 1970, and picking up ten wins in two seasons in 1971 and 1972.
After winning the 1974 PGA Championship he was struck by lightning at the 1975 Western Open and suffered injuries to his spine and back. He later underwent surgery to remove a damaged spinal disk and back problems later restricted his play. However, while he did not quite return to his early 1970s prime, he remained one of the world's leading players for more than another decade, winning his last major, the 1984 PGA Championship at the unusually advanced age of 44.
Lee Trevino actually caddied for Jojo's daddy way back when on Cedar Crest Golf Course. Years later, when approached about a donation to a church auction, several autographed items showed up promptly. Lee is truly a remarkable person and a role model for all to follow.
After being struck by lightening, he was once asked why he carried a 1 iron. Trevino replied, "Even God can't hit a 1 iron". So it is with much respect that this cache is dedicated to him, his sense of community and his enduring committment to enjoying life and making his own way. His caddie says you would want to pull out a wood on this one.
Located in the Ferris Park Cemetery, the coordinates were averaged over a 5 minute span to an accuracy of 6.8' using a WAAS enable Garmin eTrex Legend Cs and a GPSmap60 CSx.
