by Jeff Skinner
There’s always a good reason the watch The Golf Channel and Brandel Chamblee, Rich Lerner and of course Holly Sonders are just a few. But not every minute on The Golf Channel is watchable…that means you Ahmad. But tonight classifies as a must watch.
The Golf Channel will be airing the 1971 U.S. Open playoff between Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus. Rarely seen on television, these three hours of television are a little bit of heaven for golf fans, old and new alike.
While Jack and Lee grew to be friends they were two of the toughest competitors during their heyday. 1971 was Trevino’s high watermark. After beating Nicklaus at the Open at Merion he went on to win the Canadian Open (a very big tournament then) and then won the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
We all know that Nicklaus ended his playing days with 18 majors. Trevino finished his career with six major championships, two each at the U.S. Open, Open Championship and The PGA. And remarkably Jack had 19 second place finishes at the majors and you couldn’t blame Jack if he felt “snake bit” by the Merry Mex. Of Trevino’s six majors Nicklaus finished in second place four times.
Here’s a peek at Lee and Jack playing around on the first tee at the 1971 playoff. The entire round airs tonight at 8:00pmEST on The Golf Channel.
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