Photograph by Walter Iooss Jr.

"If golf ever needed a certain kind of man to dull the harsh scorn of its critics, he was found in 1971. Golf found Lee Trevino, a common man with an uncommon touch who has bewitched, bothered and bewildered the custodians of the game's mores. What Lee Trevino has done is take the game out of the country club boardroom and put in the parking lot where everybody—not just doctors and lawyers but Indian chiefs, too—can get at it."

Text by Curry Kirkpatrick
Issue Date: December 23, 1971

In 1971 during a four-week span in June and July, Lee Trevino won three straight golf tournaments: the U.S., Canadian, and British Opens. Trevino finished second on the money list with $231,000 and was named PGA Player of the Year. The gregarious and accessible Trevino also helped broaden the appeal of golf.