Trevino works crowd

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NEWPORT BEACH — Lee Trevino raised his left hand with a clinched fist and smiled as he said the words that summed up his life.

“Only in America, baby!�

Trevino’s phrase resulted in a vibrant round of applause while he spoke at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel and Spa Tuesday morning. The golf legend, who has won 29 times, including six majors on the PGA Tour, was the keynote speaker during the Toshiba Classic Breakfast with a Champion.

He closed a story with, “only in America,� after talking about the favorite moment of his career.

Trevino, who spoke with a Texas twang, said playing a nine-hole round of golf with King Hassan of Morocco still stands out to him as a great event in his rags-to-riches life. The course, he said, was on the palace grounds.

“Can you imagine a poor, little Mexican boy from Texas playing with the king of Morocco? With President [Ronald] Reagan? With President [George H.W.] Bush?� Trevino said.

Trevino worked the crowd, speaking for roughly 50 minutes in a sit-down interview with Hank Adler, the former Toshiba Classic chairman who now serves as the chairman emeritus.

While there were several light moments during the speaking, Trevino also provided some serious tones when talking about the new equipment in his favorite sport.

“The USGA let it right by ‘em,� he said. “The ball is souped up real hot.�

Overall, Trevino revealed a piece of himself to the crowd mainly in the name of the Toshiba Classic, the tournament that’s in its 15th year and is one of the Texan’s favorite on the Champions Tour because it’s played at Newport Beach Country Club. He called it, “a jewel.�

The morning event also served as a fundraiser for Hoag Hospital and provided a venue for tournament officials to discuss its mission and relay other recent news. The Toshiba Classic, with tournament chairman Ira Garbutt and company president and CEO Mark Simons, presented a $20,000 check to the Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, the group that builds homes for war veterans or families of those who served.

Cori Chapin, a senior at Estancia, was honored at the breakfast, along with Cindy Vallejo of Laguna Hills. They were each awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Toshiba Classic.

Then a bit later, Adler introduced Trevino, saying, “This is as good as it gets.�

Trevino immediately opened with a joke, “It took me an hour to get my breakfast. I understand. They must’ve thought I was part of the crew.�

Though Trevino is widely known for his U.S. Open win in 1971, he spent the majority of the morning speaking about breaking into the game and playing golf with the king of Morocco.

He also shared a funny story about his first time playing against Raymond Floyd, who finished with 22 PGA Tour wins.

Trevino worked as a do-everything man at the course that Floyd came to, to play against who he thought would be a formidable opponent. Trevino carried Floyd’s bag into the locker room and spoke with Floyd, who asked who he was playing against.

“That would be me,� Trevino said.

When others told Floyd to get ready and start practicing, Floyd responded, “Why? I’m playing against the locker room attendant.�

Turns out, Trevino beat Floyd twice out of three times.

Trevino will play in the Toshiba Classic, which starts Friday and ends Sunday at Newport Beach Country Club. He’ll be in the pro-am Thursday, mostly likely playing with his friend, George Lopez, who was in attendance at the breakfast.

STEVE VIRGEN may be reached at (714) 966-4616 or by e-mail at [email protected].