Hall of Fame Golfer Chi Chi Rodriguez Dies at 88; Known for Greens Antics

Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, a Hall of Fame golfer known for his antics on the greens and inspiring life story, passed away on Thursday at the age of 88.

The news of Rodriguez’s death was shared by Carmelo Javier Ríos, a senator in Rodriguez’s native Puerto Rico. The cause of death was not disclosed.

“Chi Chi Rodriguez’s passion for charity and outreach was surpassed only by his incredible talent with a golf club in his hand,” stated PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan. “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 Juan Antonio Rodriguez, the second oldest of six children in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, Chi Chi helped his father with the sugar cane harvest as a child. The area, now part of San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capital, was once covered with sugar cane fields.

Rodriguez learned golf by hitting tin cans with a guava tree stick before becoming a caddie. By age 12, he claimed he could shoot a 67, according to the Chi Chi Rodriguez Management Group in Stow, Ohio. Determined to succeed on the PGA Tour, he once remarked, “They told me I was a hound dreaming about pork chops.”

He served in the U.S. Army from 1955-57, joined the PGA Tour in 1960, and won eight tournaments over his 21-year career, also playing on one Ryder Cup team. His first PGA Tour win came in 1963 at the Denver Open, followed by victories that continued through 1979 with the Tallahassee Open. He later achieved 22 victories on the Champions Tour from 1985-2002 and earned more than $7.6 million in combined career earnings. In 1992, he was inducted into the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame.

While his playing record might not scream Hall of Fame, his contributions to the game, his showmanship, charity work, and dedication to youth development were immense.

In the 1970s, he established a children’s academy in Tampa, Florida, focusing on at-risk youth. “Why do I love kids so much? Because I was never a kid myself. I was too poor to really have a childhood,” Rodriguez once reflected.

Known for his humor and love for baseball, Rodriguez’s personality shone brightly. When asked why he abandoned baseball at the 1996 U.S. Senior Open, he joked, “I used to steal bases,” to the amusement of the room.

Rodriguez was perhaps best known for his fairway antics, such as twirling his club like a sword in his “matador routine” or performing celebratory dances after making birdie putts. While these antics sometimes irritated fellow players, Rodriguez always insisted it was all meant in good fun.

In October 1998, he was hospitalized after experiencing chest pains. Initially reluctant, he saw a doctor who informed him he was having a heart attack. “It scared me for the first time,” Rodriguez said in a 1999 interview with The Associated Press. He recalled being informed that if he had waited another 10 minutes, he would have needed a heart transplant. “They call it the widow-maker,” he said, noting that about 50% of people with such a heart attack die. “So I beat the odds pretty good.”

Following his recovery, Rodriguez returned to competition for a few years before focusing more on community and charity activities, including the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation based in Clearwater, Florida, founded in 1979.

In recent years, he spent much of his time in Puerto Rico, where he partnered in a golf community project, hosted a radio talk show, and made various public appearances. In 2008, during the Puerto Rico Open, Rodriguez wore a black leather coat and dark sunglasses, shaking hands and posing for pictures. He refrained from playing golf, stating, “I didn’t want to take a spot away from young men trying to make a living.”

Source: Nexstar Media Inc.