Lee Trevino, one of the great golfers, talks about his respect for Jack Nicklaus, perhaps the greatest player of all time, and Scottie Scheffler, the best golfer, and he can illustrate that thought, although to help him, he needs another game other than the one where all three want their fame.
Volleyball.
Appearing in a video released Wednesday on the PGA Championships YouTube channel, Trevino was asked about several topics by host Rich Beem, who, like Trevino, is a PGA winner. They remember Trevino’s beginnings in golf. His victory. How he won. The entire video is worth watching, and you can do so here. One of the most interesting points, however, came when Beem asked Trevino what role Nicklaus played in his success.
Significantly, Trevino said it was small, at least at first. He knew Nicklaus’s stance. He knew what he needed to meet that. “He’s saying to pull your belt a little,” Trevino said, in his Trevino way. However, Trevino said he thought his humble beginnings made him immune to any pressure — “I didn’t know what the pressure of hell was,” he said — and that helped his performance.
Then it was time for the Ryder Cup.
Trevino and Nicklaus were teammates, and one night, there was work, but Nicklaus was a no-show. Later, Trevino asked him about that. The event felt important.
But Nicklaus said his daughter has a volleyball game.
“And that’s when I realized,” Trevino said, “you know, there’s more to this game.”
He continued with Nicklaus.
“I respect his golf, but I respect his dad more,” Trevino said. “He was the best father I have ever seen in my life.
“I learned a lot from him, I had children at first, I got divorced, [and] I never knew them because I was always on the golf course. When I married this lady in 1983 and we had two children, she looked at me and said, ‘You’re going to help me raise these.’ And they go everywhere. But he pulled them. He was going to—no, no, he said, ‘We’re going to see your father.’ You know, ‘We’re going with your dad.’ And Friday night, man, they were there, coming home, everything.
“And I knew exactly what Jack was doing. That gave me the impression that, ‘This is what Jack was doing.'”
And Trevino said he sees Scheffler doing that, too.
Having won 20 PGA Tour events in the past four years, including four majors, Scheffler often talked about his family. He did this with a long memory during a long press conference at last year’s Open Championship, where he said his family is very important to him.
“I’m blessed to be able to come out here and play golf,” said Scheffler, “but if my golf ever starts to affect my home life or my relationship with my wife or my son, that will be the last day I’m going to play outside for a living.”
“This is not the be all, end all. This is not the most important thing in my life.”
Trevino noticed.
“Scottie said, ‘Listen, it’s not just this game,'” she said.
Here, Trevino ended his answer with a quick joke. After all, this is Trevino, who is as good with his words as he is with his golf.
“But I think when you become a goat, you say, ‘You can spend more time at home.’
Editor’s note: To watch the entire PGA Championships video with Trevino, please click here.
