35 years ago, Lee Trevino delivered one of the most delightfully cunning plays in Champions Tour history, one that never involved a scorecard, a practice session, or even Jack Nicklaus himself. Instead, Trevino aimed straight for the person who truly influenced the Golden Bear’s schedule: Barbara Nicklaus. And he did it with one bouquet a match.

It began in 1990, Trevino just turned 50, and prepared for his debut season on what was then the Senior PGA Tour. The anticipation surrounding his arrival only grew when the calendar showed Jack Nicklaus would hit the same milestone less than two months later. A Trevino–Nicklaus clash was inevitable, but Lee Trevino understood the magnitude of what that meant. Even in limited appearances, Nicklaus could tilt the field with a single tee time.

So Trevino came up with a wild plan. “I actually talked to Nicklaus’ manager and his wife, and you can ask Barbara,” Trevino said. “As I told Barbara, I said, ‘Listen, for every tournament that I enter, if you keep Jack at home, I’ll send you a dozen roses.’” Lee Trevino revealed years later, in a PGA Tour Champions video from October 2024.

And the season that followed showed exactly why he felt the need to level the playing field. "That year I played 38 tournaments and sent Barbara Nicklaus 30 dozen roses," Trevino added with a chuckle.

According to Golf Digest, Lee Trevino produced one of the greatest seasons in senior golf in 1990: seven victories, 15 top-twos, and a money title worth nearly $1.2 million. Nicklaus, meanwhile, competed only four times and won twice.

The roses, of course, became part of Lee Trevino’s folklore. He joked that he played 38 tournaments and sent Barbara 30 dozen roses, numbers he knowingly exaggerated, but a story he told with so much delight that the facts hardly dulled the charm.

Few players could take on Jack Nicklaus in any form. Even fewer could do it with a floral bribe and turn it into one of the sport’s most beloved tales.

Written by

Aditi Singh

Edited by

Sagnik Bagchi