Sat, Jul 04 2009
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Published March 23, 2008 12:12 am - Little guy Rodriguez set high pro standards During his heyday on the PGA and Champions tours, Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez was 135 pounds of slapstick comic, shotmaker non-pareil and humanitarian.
Unfortunately for golf fans, Rodriguez, now 72, makes few appearances on the seniors tour these days. Too bad, both the Champions and PGA Tour need the color that Chi Chi and Lee Trevino provided. Only Fuzzy Zoeller and Peter Jacobson remain among those who can keep fans chuckling at their comments and marveling at their talents at the same time. Those who have seen Chi Chi play, remember him bending shots left and right to suit the situation or his momentary preference. He was, at best, a mediocre-to-average putter who occasionally got on a hot streak. Mention Chi Chi Rodriguez to a golfer over 60 and they’re most likely to smile at the thought of the rail-thin Puerto Rican waving his putter like a saber in doing battle with a birdie or an eagle on the green. Or perhaps they recall his trademark hat, which he dropped over the cup to keep the ball from escaping. Chi Chi’s heart was with the hundreds, even thousands, of kids that he has touched through the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation and Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Academy. The mission statement says the purpose of the Rodriguez organization is “to assist at risk children by improving their self-esteem, character, work ethic, social adjustment and academic performance using the golf course as a living classroom.” What Rodriguez has accomplished is impressive. One of my favorite images of Cheech shows him crossing a small bridge in Florida carrying a child and surrounded dozens of happy youngsters. Pro golf misses Chi Chi. He was unique in his ability to connect with audiences. Rodriguez would put on a show on the greens — doing his swashbuckling “toreador dance” after making a putt, exchanging quips with nearby fans, wagging a disapproving finger at his driver after a mediocre tee shot or, in the spirit of showmanship, urging fans around the greens to applaud or cheer louder for an especially good putt or shot. For Cheech, though, his antics were expressions of love for those who were watching, a desire to entertain them and get them into the game. Rodriguez had the ability, missing in too many of us, to focus on what he considered to be really important. “I enjoy making people laugh,” he said in an interview more than 30 years ago at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. “I play golf for a living, not for egotistical purposes. It doesn’t bother me that I’ll never win the Open or the Masters. I want to win like everyone else, but not more than anything.” Chi Chi never played in the British Open and his best finishes in the U.S. Open (6th in 1981), Masters (twice tied for 10th) and PGA Championship (tied for 15th) are less than spectacular. But he always gave galleries something to smile about, even if he wasn’t playing well. “Usually, I’ll talk more to older ladies and real young kids,” he said. “Those are the people who need it (the attention) the most.” At 5-7, with thin, powerful forearms and a swing that was so quick you couldn’t look away for an instant, Rodriguez got started in golf as a caddy in Puerto Rico. His family was poor. His father was a foreman on a sugar cane plantation earning about $18 a week. Chi Chi also worked in the cane fields briefly. A vitamin deficiency problem as a child left his hands misshapen, but that condition may have given him a better grip for holding the golf club. After discovering golf as a caddie at a nearby country club, Chi Chi played his version of the game at home using a stick for a club and a compacted tin can for a ball. Later, he got professional help from Ed Dudley, who was head pro at Augusta National and who had been an early pro at Oak Hill Country Club (now Twin Hills in Joplin). Rodriguez worked successfully with Marshall Smith of Miami, Okla., and their friendship has continued over the years. Cheech’s first PGA win came in the 1963 Denver Open. He won $5,300, probably more money than his father made during his lifetime. 
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