Always-Chatty Lee Trevino Eager to See How 150th British Open Plays Out

The six-time major champion, at St. Andrews for the Celebration of Champions, also offered an assessment of Tiger Woods' game.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — When the world of golf had Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player, it also had Lee Trevino.

Neither lesser known nor less talented, Trevino was maybe the purest ball-striker on the planet, but was also golf’s version of Yogi Berra, with funny witticisms and jokes.

A winner of six majors, four coming head-to-head against Nicklaus, Trevino was a self-made player that never was without a comment or a punch line.

As Nicklaus said on Monday during the Celebration of Champions at St. Andrews, a four-hole exhibition of former champions, Trevino laughs at his own jokes.

Trevino got to see current greatness in action as he was teamed up with Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods and former Women’s British Open champion Georgia Hall.

“Even though I love Tiger and I love Rory, Georgia Hall impressed me the most,” Trevino said with his patented laugh. “Now I know why she won all those tournaments. She can hit it. Holy moly, I’m glad she wasn’t playing the senior tour, I’d never won a tournament.”

Even at 82, Trevino hasn’t lost his humor.

After playing in the four-hole exhibition, Trevino assessed the Old Course which he played six times in his career, a T3 his best finish in 1970.

“This golf course is easy, if you do everything perfect,” Trevino said. “But if you're a little off with an iron or a driver, this is a booger bear, because of the gorse and the heather and the deep bunkers with the big faces. It's extremely hard.”

Hard and fast, for the 150th edition of the British Open, Trevino sees a little added wind helping the the Old stand up to its previous glory.

Though the length of the modern player will at times seem to overpower the Old Course, with at least five par 4s being drivable, Trevino is salivating to watch such power take on the Old.

“I’ve already told a couple of guys, don’t try to win the Open Thursday and Friday by going for those greens, because you make a big number and you’re gonna get behind the eight-ball.” Trevino said. “If you get 4, 5, 7 or 8 shots behind Saturday or Sunday, then go like hell.”

The Trevino plan is then to drive every green and make every birdie you can, and you can catch up.

Outside of assessing the Old Course, Trevino also had a chance to assess Woods and how he looks going into his 90th major championship.

“I’m just glad he's alive.” Trevino said of Woods. “He’s got to be very careful that he doesn’t get to a point where he loses that leg.”

Woods inferred what Trevino said about his right leg just last week at the J.P. McManus Pro-Am.

“I will always be able to play golf, whether it's this leg or someone else's leg or false leg or different body pieces that have been he placed or fused, I'll always be able to play,” Woods said. “Now if you say play at a championship level, well, that window is definitely not as long as I would like it to be.”

The leg issue has not bothered Woods ability to play golf at a high level, evidenced by making the cut at both the Masters and PGA Championship this year.

Trevino said Woods told him at the Father-Son event last December that he could play at a high level, but just couldn’t walk the courses easily.

“Rory hit driver on the 18th green and Tiger hit it over the green,” Trevino said to support his point about Woods' game. “Tiger is hitting it just as far, just as well, he said his problem is he can’t walk.”

Trevino said he can’t wait to watch the 150th Open Championship unfold.

“This is going to be a hell of a tournament because there’s so many guys that can drive the par 4s and they are going to get themselves is some trouble,” Trevino said. "There’s no lead safe here. If a guy’s got a four- or five-shot lead and there’s going to be guys from way back to make it up, if they go after it.”