Chi-Chi Rodríguez: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 11:56, 6 April 2011
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2010) |
| Chi-Chi Rodríguez | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Full name | Juan Antonio Rodríguez | ||||||
| Nickname | Chi-Chi | ||||||
| Born | October 23, 1935 Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico | ||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg; 11 st) | ||||||
| Sporting nationality |  United States | ||||||
| Career | |||||||
| College | None | ||||||
| Turned professional | 1960 | ||||||
| Current tour(s) | Champions Tour | ||||||
| Former tour(s) | PGA Tour | ||||||
| Professional wins | 38 | ||||||
| Number of wins by tour | |||||||
| PGA Tour | 8 | ||||||
| PGA Tour Champions | 22 | ||||||
| Best results in major championships | |||||||
| Masters Tournament | T10: 1970, 1973 | ||||||
| PGA Championship | T15: 1969 | ||||||
| U.S. Open | T6: 1981 | ||||||
| The Open Championship | T28: 1973 | ||||||
| Achievements and awards | |||||||
| |||||||
Juan Antonio "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez (born October 23, 1935) is a Puerto Rican professional golfer. He was the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Early years
Rodríguez was born into a poor family in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. He was one of six siblings. His father used to earn only $18 a week as a laborer and cattle handler. When Rodríguez was only seven years old, he helped the family by earning money as a water carrier on a sugar plantation. One day Juan wandered off into a golf course. When he saw that the caddies were earning more money than he was he decided to become a caddy himself.
Rodríguez would take a branch from a guava tree and turn it into a golf club. Using a metal can as a "golf ball", he would practice what he had seen the "real" golfers do, teaching himself how to play golf. By the time he was nine years old, he was proficient at golf and in 1947 at the age of 12, he scored a remarkable 67.
In 1954 when Rodríguez was 19, he joined the Army. During his breaks, he would visit whichever golf course was nearby, where he continued to perfect his game.
Rodríguez, with characteristic charisma, would often make jokes about his past hardships on the golf course, such as, "How long does John Daly drive a golf ball? When I was a kid, I didn't go that far on vacation." And, "Playing golf is not hot work. Cutting sugar cane for a dollar a day — that's hot work. Hotter than my first wrist watch." [1]
PGA Tour
Rodríguez turned professional in 1960. In 1963, at 28, Rodríguez won the Denver Open, which he considers as his favorite win. He won eight titles on the PGA Tour between 1963 and 1979.
At first, Rodríguez used to put his hat over the hole whenever he made a birdie or eagle. After he heard that other golfers were complaining about his little act, he decided to try something new. Juan developed his signature "toreador dance", where he would make believe that the ball was a "bull" and that his putter was a "sword" and he would terminate the "bull". Rodríguez represented Puerto Rico on 12 World Cup teams.
Senior PGA Tour
Rodríguez became eligible to play on the Senior PGA Tour (now known as the Champions Tour) in 1985 and did so for many years with great success, earning 22 tournament victories between 1986 and 1993. He was the first player on the Senior PGA Tour to win the same event in three consecutive years. He set a tour record with eight consecutive birdies en route to a win at the 1987 Silver Pages Classic. In 1991, he lost an 18-hole playoff to a legendary Jack Nicklaus in the U.S. Senior Open.
Awards and honors
In 1986, Rodríguez won the Hispanic Recognition Award. In 1988, he was named Replica's Hispanic Man of the Year. In 1989, Rodríguez was voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. He received the 1989 Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, GCSAA's highest honor. In 1992, Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the first Puerto Rican so honored.
Later years
On one occasion Rodríguez had a brief encounter with Mother Teresa. He considers that moment as the greatest moment in his life. This encounter inspired him to help others. Rodríguez, together with former pro golfer Bill Hayes and Bob James, established the "Chi-Chi Rodríguez Youth Foundation", an afterschool program at the Glen Oaks Golf Course in Clearwater, Florida. The principal idea behind the foundation is to instill self-esteem in young people who are victims of abuse, have experienced minor brushes with the law, or have suffered other hardships. Rodríguez also bought his mother a house and gave financial help to his brothers and sisters.
In October 1998, Rodríguez suffered a heart attack. He had an angioplasty to clear the blocked artery and made a recovery. He is married and has one daughter.
In 2004 Rodriguez made a cameo in the movie Welcome to Mooseport, shown golfing with the "President" portrayed by Gene Hackman.
In May 2010, Rodríguez was robbed at his house in Guayama, Puerto Rico by three people who stole $500,000 in cash and jewelry. Rodríguez and his wife were awakened at 1:45 in the morning by masked men who then tied them up and robbed them.[2]
Professional wins (38)
PGA Tour wins (8)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 1, 1963 | Denver Open Invitational | -11 (68-74-65-69=276) | 2 strokes |  Bill Eggers
|
| 2 | Jan 26, 1964 | Lucky International Open | -12 (72-69-65-66=272) | Playoff | Don January
|
| 3 | Aug 9, 1964 | Western Open | -16 (64-69-68-67=268) | 1 stroke | Arnold Palmer
|
| 4 | Apr 30, 1967 | Texas Open Invitational | -7 (68-73-70-66=277) | 1 stroke |  Bob Charles, Bob Goalby
|
| 5 | Oct 20, 1968 | Sahara Invitational | -10 (70-71-69-64=274) | Playoff | Dale Douglass
|
| 6 | Apr 30, 1972 | Byron Nelson Golf Classic | -7 (66-68-69-70=273) | Playoff | Billy Casper
|
| 7 | Apr 2, 1973 | Greater Greensboro Open | -17 (68-66-67-66=267) | 1 stroke | Lou Graham, Ken Still
|
| 8 | Apr 22, 1979 | Tallahassee Open | -19 (66-69-67-67=269) | 3 strokes | Lindy Miller
|
Other wins (4)
- 1963 Colombian Open
- 1976 Pepsi-Cola Mixed Team Championship (with Jo Ann Washam)
- 1979 Bahamas Open, Panama Open (tie with Butch Baird)
Senior PGA Tour wins (22)
- 1986 (3) Senior Tournament Players Championship, Digital Seniors Classic, United Virginia Bank Seniors
- 1987 (7) General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship, Vantage at The Dominion, United Hospitals Senior Golf Championship, Silver Pages Classic, Senior Players Reunion Pro-Am, Digital Seniors Classic, GTE Northwest Classic
- 1988 (2) Doug Sanders Kingwood Celebrity Classic, Digital Seniors Classic
- 1989 (1) Crestar Classic
- 1990 (3) Las Vegas Senior Classic, Ameritech Senior Open, Sunwest Bank Charley Pride Senior Golf Classic
- 1991 (4) GTE West Classic, Vintage ARCO Invitational, Las Vegas Senior Classic, Murata Reunion Pro-Am
- 1992 (1) Ko Olina Senior Invitational
- 1993 (1) Burnet Senior Classic
Senior major championships are shown in bold.
Other senior wins (4)
- 1988 Japan PGA Senior Championship, Senior Skins Game
- 1989 Senior Skins Game
- 1993 Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge (with Raymond Floyd and Jack Nicklaus)
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | CUT | T33 | CUT | T21 | CUT | DNP | T26 | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | DNP | DNP | WD | T40 | T44 | T42 | DNP | DNP |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T44 | T71 | DNP | DNP | DNP | T15 |
| Tournament | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T10 | T30 | CUT | T10 | T20 | CUT | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | T27 | T13 | T9 | T29 | T26 | DNP | CUT | 60 | T46 | T32 |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP | T28 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | CUT | T66 | T24 | T24 | T39 | T22 | DNP | CUT | DNP | T46 |
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T44 | DNP | T38 |
| U.S. Open | CUT | T6 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| PGA Championship | WD | DNP | DNP |
DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
WD = Withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10
Champions Tour major championships
Wins (2)
| Year | Championship | Winning Score | Margin | Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Senior Players Championship | −10 (69−67−70=206) | 2 strokes |  Bruce Crampton
|
| 1987 | General Foods PGA Seniors' Championship | −6 (70−69−76−67=282) | 1 stroke | Dale Douglass
|
See also
References
- ^ The Gigantic Book of Golf Quotations, ed. Jim Apfelbaum. 2007.
- ^ Chi Chi Rodriguez robbed at home in Puerto Rico
External links
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Won: 19 – 13 | ||