Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a World Golf hall of famer and one of the sport’s brightest showmen, died Thursday, multiple sources, including the PGA Tour, announced. He was 88.
Rodriguez was dynamic in his shot-making — and full of flair in his presentation of it. Inducted into golf’s hall in 1992, he won eight times on the PGA Tour and 22 times on the PGA Tour Champions circuit, but he was also loved by fans for his personality — and most specifically, his celebrations, which included a waving of the putter as if it were a sword after a made putt, followed by a gesture of it downward, as if he were putting the weapon back in its scabbard.
Rodriguez also gave off the course, and his philanthropic endeavors included the formation of the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation. His work in that area earned him the USGA’s Bob Jones Award and an induction into the World Humanitarian Sports Hall of Fame.
“Chi Chi Rodriguez’s passion for charity and outreach was surpassed only by his incredible talent with a golf club in his hand,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a story posted to the Tour’s website. “A vibrant, colorful personality both on and off the golf course, he will be missed dearly by the PGA Tour and those whose lives he touched in his mission to give back. The PGA Tour sends its deepest condolences to the entire Rodriguez family during this difficult time.”
Born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 23, 1935, Rodriguez picked up golf “by hitting tin cans with a guava tree stick,” according to his bio on the PGA Tour’s website, then worked as a caddie before joining the U.S. Army at 19. He turned pro in 1960, and his first PGA Tour victory came at the 1963 Denver Open Invitational. He followed that with wins at the 1964 Lucky International Open, the 1964 Western Open, the 1967 Texas Open Invitational, 1968 Sahara Invitational, 1972 Byron Nelson Golf Classic, 1973 Greater Greensboro Open and the 1979 Tallahassee Open, before his run on the 50-and-over circuit. There, he won the 22 times and finished runner-up 33 times.
He was adored too for his showmanship, which included the matador-style celebration and a move where he covered a finished hole with his fedora — in order for his ball not to flee.
“Chi Chi feels so lucky, is so proud of what he’s done, is so thankful, that he has to give something back,” Doug Sanders told Sports Illustrated in a 1987 interview. “The sword dance, the jokes, the hat, the bright clothes, the way he helps kids and everybody else, it just comes down to saying, ‘Look at me. You didn’t think I could make it. But I did. In spite of everything.
“Now let me share it with you.’”
It is with that, that this is also worth sharing. In 2016, GOLF.com published a Q&A with Rodriguez, then 80, entitled “Deep Thoughts With Golf Legend Chi-Chi Rodriguez.” That full interview can be read by clicking here or by scrolling below, where the questions are written in italics.
What is the strangest thing that you’ve seen on the golf course?
“Well, to tell you the truth, I did something that’s never been done on Tour. In the Buick Open in Grand Blanc, Michigan, I hit a drive and a 6-iron to the 13th hole and made a double eagle. And that’s the only time a double eagle has been rained out on the Tour. [Laughs.] That was strange.”
What happened?
“Well, it rained hard. I was leading the tournament, but they rained the round out. Two-thirds of the field had finished. See, they never had rules on the rained-out round. The officials could make any decision they wanted. Depending [on] who was leading, that’s the way they made the ruling.”
That’s a shame. Was there a moment when you realized you were good enough at golf to play for a living?
“I knew I was gonna be good when I was 12 because I shot 67 on a 7,200-yard course. There were sand greens, and I was chipping it in.”
Where did the 67 happen?
“It was a place called Berwind Country Club in Puerto Rico. I was a caddie. I formed a union because they were not paying us enough money. They were paying us 25 cents for 18 holes, and I told the adults, that’s not enough. And I organized them all and we did a strike, and they raised it to 35 cents. Six months later, I said 35 ain’t enough. Then they went to 50. When I went into the Army when I was 19, we were getting $1.70 for 18 holes.”
What is your greatest accomplishment?
“I met Mother Teresa in the Philippines. I was a good friend of President Marcos, and we were at Puerto Azul at a course that Gary Player designed, and [Marcos] asked me, ‘Who would you like to meet, Mother Teresa or the Pope?’ And I said, ‘We will always have another Pope, but we will never have another Mother Teresa.’ So I met her and spent 45 minutes with her. Victories are important because of the money and the ego that you create with it, but this was not a material thing, this was a spiritual thing, meeting the only saint in the world then.”
Which young players on Tour today remind you of yourself?
“Rickie Fowler did, but he’s changed. I never wanted to be like anybody else. I wanted to be me. I wish Rickie would have kept the way he used to dress. He used to dress like Doug Sanders, he had the long hair. My wife and I used to love to watch him on TV. We still do, but he’s changed.”
How do you regard your career?
“In life, you have to have goals. And I have conquered most of my goals. I didn’t become the greatest golfer in the world, but I became the greatest Puerto Rican golfer of all time.”
When you were young, who impressed you most?
“I must have played 15 tournaments with Ben Hogan, and I don’t think I ever saw him miss a green. He was like a machine. The first time we played together was at Oakland Hills, and I went to the 1st tee and I said, ‘Mr. Hogan, my name is Chi Chi Rodriguez. And out of respect to you, I know that you have a bad knee. You mind if I fix your ball mark throughout the round?’ And he says, ‘I appreciate that very much.’ He liked me after that.”
Before we say goodbye, can you tell us a joke?
“Well, there was this guy who had this pet shop, and he had this parrot. And this lady used to walk by every day and the parrot would go, ‘You’re fat! You’re ugly! You’re disgusting!’ The lady kept walking by for months. ‘You’re fat! You’re ugly! You’re disgusting!’ And the lady finally got mad and came to the owner and said, ‘Hey, your parrot doesn’t respect me and she has embarrassed me in front of all the people every day. If you don’t do something about it I’m gonna sue you.’ So the guy told the parrot, ‘You better behave yourself with that lady, or I’m gonna put you in the oven.’ So the next day the parrot is right there and the lady is going by and she looks at the parrot and the parrot looks at her, and says, ‘You know!’”
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
