Sports
Lee Trevino
Garland-born and east-Dallas-raised Lee Trevino rose from caddie yards and Marine Corps golf to six major championships, becoming one of the game's most distinctive shotmakers and personalities.
- Roster rank
- #114
- Category
- Sports
- Subject type
- Person
- Profile source
- Published Texas Icons profile
Texas story
Life and career
Lee Trevino was born in Garland in 1939 and grew up in modest circumstances in the Dallas area. He began caddying as a child, left school early to work, and enlisted in the Marine Corps, where military golf gave him another sustained competitive setting.
Trevino emerged nationally by winning the 1968 U.S. Open and added five more majors. His extraordinary 1971 run included the U.S. Open, Canadian Open and Open Championship within weeks, while later victories included a second Open Championship and two PGA Championships.
Defining work
What to know
- six major championships
- 1971 U.S.-Canadian-Open sweep
- five Vardon Trophies
- 1981 World Golf Hall of Fame induction
Timeline
Key milestones
- 1939Born in Garland, Texas, and raised in the east Dallas area.
- 1950sServes in the U.S. Marine Corps and continues developing as a golfer.
- 1968Wins his first U.S. Open and becomes the first player to post four rounds in the 60s there.
- 1971Wins the U.S. Open, Canadian Open and Open Championship in a twenty-day span.
- 1981Is inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Texas connections
Places in the story
Garland
Dallas County birthplace identified in the Hall of Fame narrative for Trevino's early life.
Dallas
Childhood and caddie environment where Trevino learned the game near Dallas Athletic Club.
Legacy
Why the story lasts
Trevino's career combined elite shotmaking consistency with a conversational public style unlike the reserved image associated with many earlier golf stars.
His Texas story is rooted in the Dallas-area caddie culture and working-class path that preceded his national professional career.
Sources
Research trail
Cross-linked profiles