On this day, Lee Trevino gets a hole-in-one on the 17th island green during the 1987 Skins Game

With Nicklaus, Palmer, and Zoeller standing behind him, Trevino aces #17 and cashes in $175,000

A hole in one is an amazing feat, I simply do not care who you are. Better players have better chances, of course, but how much skill is involved with using an instrument to hit a 2 inch ball into a 4 inch hole from distance? For Lee Trevino it came easier than others.

Standing on the tee box at the 1987 Skins Game he had 11 aces to his name, with a simply swing he made number 12. Along with $175,000 and $310,000 in all it was a swing he is likely never to forget.

Jack Nicklaus was standing on the tee box when it happened and quipped, “That was a nice shot, putt, whatever that was!” This 1987 Skins Game was taped, CBS’s Brent Musburger told viewers about the hole in one during a halftime report on The NFL Today.

A national television audience and a gallery of about 8,000 watched Trevino’s drive land about four feet in front of the flag before disappearing into the cup on the island green.

The Skins Game 1983 to 2008

The Skins Game was an unofficial-money event on the PGA Tour from 1983 to 2008. It took place in November or December each year after the end of the official PGA Tour season. It was recognized by the PGA Tour but did not count towards the official money list.

It was most recently sponsored by LG and was officially known as the LG Skins Game, hosted at the Indian Wells Golf Resort in Indian Wells, California.

The Skins Game differed from most PGA Tour golf tournaments in several ways. Only four golfers were invited to the tournament and the golfers played to win individual holes or “skins” in a match play format. Each hole was assigned a different monetary value and the golfer who won the hole with the best score outright won the money for that hole.