Chi Chi Rodriguez, One of Golf’s Greatest Showmen, Dies at 88

The kids who utilize the programs that bear his name never got to see the trademark sword dance Chi Chi Rodriguez unsheathed whenever he would make a birdie putt.

Nor did they witness the schtick where he’d sometimes use the Panama hat he wore to cover up the hole—to keep the ball from jumping out.

But those antics, which sometimes riled his playing competitors but were all meant in good fun, were what led to his bigger legacy in the game at a golf course and foundation that bears his name in Clearwater, Fla.

Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, 88, passed away on Thursday in his native Puerto Rico. A cause of death was not released.

The popular golfer won eight times on the PGA Tour and another 22 times on what is now called the PGA Tour Champions, the last coming in 1993. He had four top-10s in major championships, his best a tie for sixth at the 1981 U.S. Open.

Among his victories was a win at the 1964 Western Open, where he prevailed over Arnold Palmer by a stroke. He also won the 1972 Byron Nelson Golf Classic in a playoff over Billy Casper.

In 1991, Rodriguez lost in an 18-hole playoff to Jack Nicklaus for the U.S. Senior Open title.

Nicklaus was a supporter of Rodriguez’s efforts in Florida, several times attending fundraisers known as the “Chi Chi and the Bear.’’ Rodriguez quipped about Nicklaus: “He’s a legend in his spare time.’’

Rodriguez made his reputation as a showman, but he real legacy will continue off the course. / Robert Beck/SI

Rodriguez often complimented the work of Tiger Woods in starting a foundation meant to help kids in need at such a young age, as his own efforts came about more slowly and later in his career.

He had grown up in Puerto Rico, a baseball fan first, and started in golf by hitting tin cans with a club constructed out of a guava tree stick.

He worked as a caddie, served in the U.S. Army, then turned pro in 1960 and won eight times, the first victory coming at the 1963 Denver Open.

While on a trip to the Philippines in the 1970s, Rodriguez met Mother Teresa via President Ferdinand Marcos. She asked the golfer a simple question that changed his life and continues to help all those Florida kids today.

“I heard you were a poor boy but now you are a rich man. What are you doing with that blessing to help other poor children of the world?’’

Inspired, Rodriguez pledged to use his name and golf to help kids. He just didn’t know where and how.

Those answers came when Rodriguez was in the Clearwater area for late fall golf tournament known as the JCPenney Classic, a mixed-team event of PGA and LPGA pros that was played annually for more than 20 years.

Rodriguez was invited to hit balls at a local juvenile detention center when he was hit with the idea. On the spot, he gave $1,000 to a man named Bill Hayes, who would become executive director of the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation.

On a tiny little nine-hole course called Glen Oaks was born the idea to help kids through golf. That was in 1979.

By 1989, a 140-acre piece of land across town was leased to the charity for $1 a year. That foundation raised $4 million to build a golf course and buildings to house students. A par-69 course and driving range were constructed, with all proceeds going to the foundation.

The foundation now sits on a 170-acre campus and has partnered with the First Tee of Clearwater. The public-private Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy serves grades 4 through 8, with the public school system in Pinellas County identifying children in need of help. The foundation provides the facilities and classroom materials.

“He really created the blueprint,” said former Clearwater mayor Frank Hibbard during an interview celebrating the foundation’s 30th anniversary. “And the amazing thing is, he stayed with it. A lot of people get their name on something and create the infrastructure for the organization. And then lose contact. And he’s continually been a part of it, coming back and spearheading all of the different programs. So we’ve been blessed.

“It’s been so successful. As far as a community, we really have great resources and committed citizens if a program works. And a lot of them don’t. But this one you can see there’s quantitative data to back up the fact that this program is a success. They are taking kids who are really at risk and struggling under normal conditions they bring them in under his program and just watch them flourish.”

At the same celebration, Rodriguez said: “I can’t believe this, such a great thing has happened I hope that this school can be a role model for other schools throughout the United States, so that we can teach them how to do it.’’

The birth of what was called the Senior PGA Tour was a second chance for Rodriguez and a blessing for his foundation as well. The game’s ultimate showman turned 50—the eligibility age for senior golf—in 1985 and won 12 times in his first three full years. His popularity brought more acclaim for his foundation’s efforts.

“I got more recognized and the kids got more attention and to go know who I was,’’ said Rodriguez, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. “It went hand in hand, the senior tour and this.’’

Rodriguez stopped playing Champions Tour events in 2007 and bemoaned the state of his game. “I don’t play like I used to,’’ he said. “It’s no fun when you can’t play good.

“I used to hit draws with an iron shot, and one of the tough things is I hardly ever hit a straight shot. I want to work it. The way the equipment is made now, you can’t work it. You want to hit a draw, and there it goes and bam it goes straight.

“I used to curve a 5- or 6-iron 50 yards. You can only curve it about 10 yards now. It’s been a big change but it’s for the best. I wish I would have learned to play golf with this new equipment. If the young guys had the old equipment, they would work the ball the same way I did.’’

Through it all, Rodriguez maintained perspective. He learned to play golf with a guava stick and a ball made of a tin, a memory that continued to serve him.

“Winning material things, in the end, doesn’t matter,’’ he said. “What I have here feels better than any tournament I have won.’’