by Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a longtime PGA Tour star and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died Thursday, the league announced.
He was 88 years old.
“Chi Chi Rodriguez’s passion for charity and giving back was surpassed only by his incredible talent with a golf club in his hand,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “A vibrant and colorful personality both on and off the golf course, he will be greatly missed by the PGA Tour and those whose lives he touched in his mission to give back. The PGA Tour extends its deepest condolences to the entire Rodriguez family during this difficult time.”
Rodriguez, who grew up in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, learned to play golf by hitting tin cans with tree sticks as a child on the island. After caddying as a teenager and serving two years in the Army in the 1950s, Rodriguez joined the PGA Tour in 1960. Just three years later, at the 1963 Denver Open Invitational, Rodriguez earned his first victory.
Rodriguez had eight career victories on Tour and 22 on the PGA Tour Champions before largely retiring from the game after the 2004 campaign. He was a member of the 1973 Ryder Cup team and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. Rodriguez also won the USGA’s Bob Jones Award in 1989 and was inducted into the World Humanitarian Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
Although he won only eight times, Rodriguez was one of the most popular players on tour, largely due to his antics on the course, including waving his club like a sword as part of a “matador routine,” dancing after making a putt and even imitating other players. He often dropped his hat over the cup after making a birdie “so the little birdie wouldn’t fly away,” but Commissioner Joseph Dey put a stop to that.
“People come and pay good money to watch golf,” Rodriguez said, via the PGA Tour. “I think they deserve something extra, and I like to give it to them.”
After retiring from playing, Rodriguez spent time running his youth foundation in Florida and Puerto Rico, where he was a partner in a community golf project. He is survived by his longtime wife, Iwalani, and his stepdaughter, Donnette.
