Lee Trevino is an enigmatic figure in every sense of the word, and in his prime he was also a truly great golfer.
Trevino recorded 29 wins on the PGA Tour during his career, including six major championships.
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The 86-year-old from Garland, Texas, is widely considered to be the greatest shot shaper in the history of the game.
Trevino was most comfortable aiming 40 degrees to the left of the fairway and returning to the short grass, never trying to hit a straight shot.
Photo credit: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
The six-time major champion started from scratch and established himself as one of the game’s true greats.
But who does Trevino respect as the best?
Lee Trevino once named the greatest golfer of all time
In an interview with SIRIUSXM PGA TOUR Radio, Trevino was asked who he thought were the four greatest golfers to ever grace the game.
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“Golfers are like orange trees.“ Trevino said.
“There’s always an orange on top, and then there’s another orange that barely touches it, and you get a ring of oranges.
“In my opinion, the orange at the top is between the three golfers.
Photo credit: JEFF HAYNES/AFP via Getty Images.
“I think Nicklaus, Snead, Bobby Jones, Tiger is touching them. Tiger is grabbing them a little bit.“
It’s hard to argue with Trevino’s selection there.
The discussion of the greatest golfers of all time is very interesting.
Jack Nicklaus won 73 PGA Tour tournaments, including 18 major wins, and Sam Snead won 82 PGA Tour titles and seven majors.
Of course, Bobby Jones never turned professional, but he still won four U.S. Opens and three British Opens before retiring at the young age of 28.
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And finally, there’s Tiger Woods, who has 82 wins on the PGA Tour (tied with Snead for the most all-time), including 15 majors.
It’s hard to choose one, but perhaps Nicklaus’ and Woods’ records separate them from the rest.
That being said, if Bobby Jones had turned pro and played past the age of 28, it would have been very interesting to see what he would have accomplished.
