Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, the enormously popular golfer known for his fun-loving antics, died Thursday at 88 years old. Carmelo Javier Ríos, a senator in Rodriguez’s native Puerto Rico, announced the death and did not provide a cause of death.
“Chi Chi Rodriguez’s passion for charity and outreach 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, 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.”
Rodriguez was an eight-time PGA Tour winner and 22-time Champions Tour winner, and he was inducted into the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992. But when discussing Rodriguez’s story, the wins pale in significance to the inspiration and the disposition.
Rodriguez was born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 23, 1935, and as a child, he helped his father in the sugar cane fields. Rodriguez learned to play golf using guava tree sticks as clubs and tin cans as balls. He then served in the U.S. Army from 1955-57, playing golf when he could.
Rodriguez turned pro in 1960, and he earned his first PGA Tour win at the 1963 Denver Open. He became a truly unique character on Tour thanks to his celebrations, which included waving his club like a sword, wiping it off and tucking it away.
In 1998, Rodriguez was hospitalized with chest pain, and a doctor told him it was a heart attack. Though Rodriguez continued to play on the Champions Tour, he dedicated more time to the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, which was founded in 1979 and “helps at-risk youth achieve academic, social, and economic success by keeping them engaged in their education and acquiring practical skills necessary to succeed at life,” according to its website. He spent most of his later years in his native Puerto Rico.