Lee Trevino built his Hall of Fame career not just on shot-making, but on an ability to disarm pressure with humor. One of the clearest examples came during a tense duel with Jack Nicklaus, which Trevino says he will never forget. That instance dates back to the 1974 PGA Championship.

Recalling the decades-old memory, the 29-time PGA Tour winner reflected on his three-putt at the 17th hole. He initially had a two-shot lead, but by the 18th hole, he had a one-shot lead. Trevino found the fairway with his drive. However, Nicklaus followed with a pin-high approach that finished just 15 to 20 feet from the hole. Trevino, meanwhile, slightly overhit his six-iron and left himself a slippery downhill 30-footer, which stopped about two feet short.

As Nicklaus began studying his birdie putt, Trevino approached him with an unusual request. “If Jack makes that birdie, now the heat is really on me,” Trevino reasoned. “In other words, to make that two-footer, or now I lose the tournament.” 

But Trevino came up with a brilliant plan against Jack Nicklaus. He continued, “I said, ‘Listen, if you don’t let me putt this thing, I’m choking so bad.’ I said, ‘I’m gonna faint. I guarantee I’m gonna hit the ground.’ And he just kind of closed his eyes with a little grin, and he shook [his head in a nod], and he says, ‘Go ahead.’”

After already three-putting the 17th, he knew what another mistake could mean. Thankfully, that never happened as Trevino trumped Nicklaus by one stroke. He recalled the averted "disaster," laughing at the thought of finishing with back-to-back three-putts under that kind of pressure.

But he had one more remark saved for his former opponent…

Lee Trevino Made Another Note After Beating Jack Nicklaus in 1974

“Most people get the yips and can’t take the putter back because they stare at the putter and they’re staring at those lines— I hate putters with lines,” Trevino remarked. “And they stare at the putter, and then they can’t get it back.”

“So what I did was I taught myself to look at the hole as I’m looking at the hole. My head was connected to the putter head, and when my head came back to the ball, the putter was already gone, and that’s why I was so quick with it.”

Written by

Krushna Pattnaik

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi