Trevino to receive 2013 PGA Distinguished Service Award
PGA.COM August 5, 2013
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Lee Trevino is the 2013 recipient of the PGA Distinguished Service Award.(Getty Images)
By PGA of America PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Six-time major champion Lee Trevino, arguably golf's most engaging personality as a competitor while quietly conducting a tireless philanthropic life, will receive the 2013 recipient of the PGA Distinguished Service Award, Wednesday, Aug. 7, at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. A member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Trevino, 73, will receive the Association's highest annual honor in conjunction with the 95th PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., the site of his first Tour triumph, the 1968 U.S. Open. The PGA Distinguished Service Award, inaugurated in 1988, honors outstanding individuals who display leadership and humanitarian qualities, including integrity, sportsmanship and enthusiasm for the game of golf. "Lee Trevino is the classic rags-to-riches story in golf. Throughout his life, Lee has never lost sight of his roots and his humble beginnings," said PGA of America President Ted Bishop. "He was a self-made player who persevered and won championships because he owned his golf swing. He has spent countless hours during his life helping others. In the history of The PGA of America, no one has appreciated or valued membership in our Association more than Lee. He is the quintessential PGA Professional - player, teacher, and humanitarian. "It is only fitting that we honor Lee Trevino with The PGA's highest award this year, a season where major championships will be conducted at Merion, Muirfield, and Oak Hill - venues where he won majors. I can't wait to give Lee this prestigious award." Born Lee Buck Trevino in Dallas, Texas, he was raised by his mother and grandfather, a gravedigger. Trevino began picking cotton when he was 5, and advanced to picking up golf balls before he joined the caddie yard. He left school at age 14, helping raise money for his family. Trevino lived nearGlen Lakes Country Club in Dallas, across from the seventh hole, in a little house with his grandfather, mother, uncle and two sisters. There was no running water or electricity. Before he would become a major force in golf, Trevino defeated all comers on a par-3 course with a taped-up Dr Pepper bottle, and went on to spend four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. Turning professional in 1960, Trevino's golf talent was spotted by PGA Life Member Bill Eschenbrenner of El Paso, Texas, who was among a group playing Mondays at the former Horizon Hills Country Club. It was there that Trevino stayed in a small motel on the property, worked behind the golf shop counter and managed the practice range. "When I saw what a great talent he was, I told Lee that I would help him get his PGA card, which was the requirement at that time to play on the Tour," said Eschenbrenner, the 2005 PGA Golf Professional of the Year, who ultimately signed the documents verifying that Trevino was eligibly employed. "The PGA meant everything to Lee then, and it does now. Lee has been a giver all his life. He had those who helped him get his start in life, and he has not forgotten that. He gives back in so many ways." Joining the PGA Tour at 27, Trevino captured the first of his two U.S. Open Championships in 1968 at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y., the first of four times when legendaryJack Nicklaus finished second to him in a major. Trevino went on to win 29 times, including six majors - the 1968 and 1971 U.S. Open; the 1974 and '84 PGA Championship; and the 1971 and '72 Open Championship. He competed on six U.S. Ryder Cup Teams in three separate decades (1969, '71, '73, '75, '79, '81), posting a 17-7-6 record, and went on to serve as U.S. Captain in 1985. He was the 1971 PGA of America Player of the Year and won five Vardon Trophies for season scoring excellence (1970, '71, '72,'74, and '80). In a remarkable four-week period in 1971, Trevino won in succession - the U.S. Open, Canadian Open and the Open Championship. At the height of his career, he was one of three players struck by lightning on June 27, 1975, at the Western Open. Though it severely hindered his game, he battled back through a series of operations and won 29 more titles on the Champions Tour, a run that included the 1992 and 1994 Senior PGA Championships. "I can't tell you how much I have cherished The PGA, and what it meant to have the start I had by having that card in 1967," said Trevino. "I'm as loyal as any individual to The PGA, an organization whose members are called upon to do everything that you can think of - whether it's growing the game, building courses, working behind the counter or playing." Trevino has maintained a passionate, yet behind-the-scenes philanthropic life, led by his affection for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, sparked through donations from winning three former Danny Thomas Memphis Classic (now St. Jude Classic) titles. On July 30, 2001, Trevino recorded a hole-in-one in the Par-3 Shootout in Gaylord, Mich., and donated $500,000 to the hospital. He was the 1971 National Christmas Seal Sports Ambassador, a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Sports Committee. He supported the Boy Scouts of America and its Circle 10 initiative in Dallas. For more than 25 years, Trevino has been virtually on call for countless charities, agreeing to be "auctioned" to a donor, then playing golf with groups throughout the country. Those charities assist underprivileged children, shelters for abused women, and disease prevention and research. Trevino also is an avid supporter of the military, appearing in recruiting announcements for the U.S. Marines, and participating in the Stater Bros. Heroes Challenge in Riverside, Calif., which benefits families of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.Lee and Claudia Trevino live in Dallas, Texas. They are parents of a daughter, Olivia, a University of Southern California graduate, now employed at Southern Methodist University, and a son, Daniel, a junior-to-be at USC. Trevino also has a son, Richard, who is a businessman in Pensacola, Fla.; a son Tony, a PGAgeneral manager at Heritage Ranch in Fairview, Texas; and a daughter Troy Liana, a fitness field project manager in Lewisville, Texas. Trevino has eight grandchildren and one great grandchild. PGA Distinguished Service Award Recipients: 1988 -- Herb Graffis 1989 -- Bob Hope 1990 -- No recipient 1991 -- The Hon. Gerald Ford 1992 -- Gene Sarazen 1993 -- Byron Nelson 1994 -- Arnold Palmer 1995 -- Patty Berg 1996 -- Frank Chirkinian 1997 -- The Hon. George H.W. Bush 1998 -- Paul Runyan 1999 -- Bill Dickey 2000 -- Jack Nicklaus 2001 -- Mark McCormack 2002 -- Tim Finchem 2003 -- Vince Gill 2004 -- Pete Dye 2005 -- Wally Uihlein 2006 -- Fred Ridley 2007 -- Jack Burke Jr. 2008 -- Dennis Walters 2009 -- William Powell 2010 --Billy Casper 2011 -- Larry Nelson 2012 -- Dave Stockton 2013 -- Lee Trevino About The PGA of AmericaSince its founding in 1916, The PGA of America has maintained a twofold mission: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, The PGA enables its professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the multi-billion dollar golf industry. By creating and delivering world-class championships and innovative programs, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. As The PGA nears its centennial, the PGA brand represents the very best in golf.
