Lopez earns laughs

For a video of George Lopez and Lee Trevino, click here.

For a photo gallery of Thursday’s action, click here.

NEWPORT BEACH — George Lopez wore all black Thursday at the final day of the Toshiba Classic Pro-Am, puffing on a cigar while measuring his shots and chatting it up with the fans.

Of course, chatting is something at which the famous comedian excels.

When Champions Tour pro Lee Trevino wasn’t happy about his tee shot at the Newport Beach Country Club’s 16th hole, Trevino muttered that he needed to re-grip his clubs.

Lopez didn’t miss a beat in responding to his childhood idol.

“You’d better be done by 3 [p.m.], so you can go to bed,” Lopez said.

Trevino, however, would not be outdone in the tag-team comedy session.

“When I’m done with the old grips, I’ll cut them off and give them to you, so you can make some sandals,” Trevino said.

So it went for much of the day as Trevino, the old pro, played alongside amateurs Lopez, Craig Hofman, Darren Doalson and Paul Williamson/Bradley Hofman. The golfers shot a 17-under-par 54 in the best-ball format.

Lopez, who had played on Wednesday in a group with pro Des Smyth, said he treasured the chance to play golf with Trevino, now a good friend.

“I didn’t play well today, but it doesn’t matter,” said Lopez, 46, who starred in “The George Lopez Show” from 2002 until last year. “To come out here and spend five hours with Lee Trevino, that’s a great thing for me. I’ve worked with him on my game, but it’s not important if I hit it good. It’s more important that I walk with him. He’s my idol from when I was a kid, so golf is secondary.”

Trevino, 68, who won six majors on the PGA Tour and is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, is seen as a hero to many Mexican-Americans. Lopez has achieved similar prominence in the comedy field.

“I’ve done things in comedy that I think he’s done in golf,” Lopez said. “I’m inspired by him and what he’s accomplished, and the fact that he’s still around, still playing golf. Richard Pryor is dead, Freddie Prinze is dead. I still hang out with Cheech [Marin], but a couple of the [comedians] who I idolize are gone.”

Lopez was all laughs Thursday. On the par-five 15th hole, he made a nice save out of the right-side bunker, before turning to the applauding gallery.

“You guys didn’t think I would get out, huh,” he said. “I could feel it. I could feel the negativity in the air.”

A hole later, two of Lopez’s friends had to leave the gallery. Lopez, who grew up in Mission Hills in the San Fernando Valley, told them it was typical of Los Angeles fans.

“What kind of fans are those?,” he said. “Dodger fans at Dodger Stadium, leaving before the game’s over.”

The comedy was appreciated by Craig Hofman, who owns local restaurants Lucille’s BBQ and Hof’s Hut, which did catering for the Toshiba Classic. Hofman and Doalson both said they didn’t know Lopez or Trevino beforehand, but were definitely happy with the luck of their draw.

“It was hilarious,” Hofman said. “It was probably the most fun I’ve had on a golf course in a long time. It was just great. George is just a crack-up. Lee was really into it, but he was still friendly. Just a lot of fun.”

Lopez, however, has more than quick wit on the golf course. It’s a sport he has loved for nearly three decades, after a curious Lopez and his friend discovered the sport.

“It was a dare that I had in 1981, me and my friend Ernie,” Lopez said. “It was Christmas day, 1981, and we said ‘Let’s go learn how to play golf.’ We rented clubs and we tried to kill every ball that we hit. We talked, had a couple of beers and that was it. I don’t think I’ve ever disconnected from golf since then.

“...It kind of rewired me. It kind of corrected all my faults that I had. I was a quitter, I was temperamental, and I was very impatient. You can’t play golf if you have any of those traits. What it’s done is that it’s allowed me to slow myself down and enjoy something that was foreign to me, and culturally is still foreign to us [Latinos].”

Lopez, who owns a house next to the 15th fairway at Pebble Beach, has participated in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Pro-Am and AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournaments since 2004. For the past two years, after Hope passed away, Lopez has also served as host of that tournament.

Lopez and Justin Timberlake, who will host the inaugural Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in October, are the only two entertainers who now host PGA Tour events.

Thursday, Lopez was able to end what he considered a subpar round with all smiles.

“It’s not important for me to shoot par, as much as it is to just be out and enjoy myself,” he said. “It’s like yoga — you can always stretch further, but do you?”

And, if the shots weren’t going in, there were always digs to make at Trevino, who tees off in the opening round of the Toshiba Classic today at 11:20 a.m.

“That’s the oldest Mexican in Newport Beach right there,” Lopez said in Trevino’s direction. “The next one is 62, the janitor at the Balboa Bay Club.”

Apparently, while Trevino teaches Lopez golf, Lopez can school Trevino about the finer points of self-depreciating comedy. Walking toward the 18th green, Trevino turned to Lopez.

“After we play this hole, we’ve got to get the mowers,” Trevino said. “You and I got to mow the greens.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].