‘He Didn’t Like’: Known for His Intense Rivalry With Jack Nicklaus, PGA Tour Legend Admits His Actions That Once Riled Up ‘The Golden Bear’

The golfing world has been teeming with rivalries for years! From the competitiveness between Paul Azinger and Seve Ballesteros to that of Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson, the sport has seen a lot of golfers duking it out against each other. However, there is one person that most find common in many of those pairings, none other than Jack Nicklaus.

The ex-pro is still known for his amazing skills on the course. However, through his dominance on the greens, many have also turned him into a rival of sorts, doing anything to keep him off the leaderboard. And so another golfing legend came forward to reveal his actions that stopped the 73-time PGA Tour champ in his tracks!

Jack Nicklaus’ strong competition that kept him off the greens

Known for being nothing short of a legend on the course, Nicklaus has garnered several accolades over his long career. And, among them, he has won 10 times on the Senior PGA Tour as well. However, Lee Trevino, his longtime rival, had emerged victorious a total of 29 times on the same, and hilariously, he did so using none other than just “roses”!

In episode 768 of the No Laying Up: Golf Podcast, the 84-year-old golfer recalled how he won five times in a row in the Champions Tour events after turning fifty. However, after winning all those tournaments, he realized how “Nicklaus didn’t play in any of those.” The 6X major champ then mentioned how he “came up with an idea” since the athlete figured he would “do okay if Nicklaus didn’t play.”

Continuing on, the 1984 PGA Championship winner recounted how he called up Barbara, his rival’s wife, and bribed her to keep her husband home every week. He said to her, “Every week that you keep Jack at home, I’m gonna send you a dozen roses.” And the rest is history, as the ‘Golden Bear’ was kept at home for the whole year in which Trevino played in 38 tournaments, all the while sending 30 dozen roses in total to the legend’s partner, “a dozen roses every week.”

It was a hilarious yet effective move on Trevino’s part, which helped him take the first step in raking up a total of 29 wins on the senior circuit, including four majors. However, this is but one of the instances that saw the retired golfer pull a prank of sorts on his rival.

A hilarious side of the Nicklaus-Trevino rivalry

During the 1971 U.S. Open that took place at the Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, Trevino saw himself emerge triumphant over ‘the Golden Bear’. The two finished first tied with each other, scoring par-280, and saw themselves facing each other off in a playoff hole. And, during the event, the former pulled a prank on the latter, which is still famous to this day.

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He tossed a rubber snake toward his opponent, which saw itself fall near the 18X major champ’s feet. The now-retired pro did the same during the Monday playoff hole as the pair were reaching the tee box to drive off the ball. A truly amusing yet iconic moment in golfing history, one might say.

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