Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez didn’t just play golf. He was a performer on the links, too.
Rodriguez, known for his “matador routine” on the course and philanthropy off the course, died Thursday. He was 88.
The Hall of Fame golfer’s death was announced by Carmelo Javier Ríos, a senator in Puerto Rico. A cause of death has not been reported, per CBS News.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan spoke of Rodriguez’s contributions on and off the fairway.
“Chi Chi Rodriguez’s passion for charity and outreach was surpassed only by his incredible talent with a golf club in his hand,” 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 born Juan Antonio Rodriguez in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.
His first exposure to golf involved hitting tin cans with a guava tree stick. He later became a caddie.
According to a biography from the Chi Chi Rodriguez Management Group in Stow, Ohio, Rodriguez boasted he could shoot a 67 by the time he was 12.
Even though no one from his native Puerto Rico had had played the PGA Tour, Rodriguez sought out to do just that.
“They told me I was a hound dreaming about pork chops,” he told Sports Illustrated.
After serving in the U.S. Army from 1955-57, Rodriguez joined the PGA Tour in 1960.
He won eight times during his 21 years on the tour
Rodriguez earned more than $7.6 million in his time as a professional golfer. In 1992, he was inducted into the PGA World Golf Hall of Fame.
He was known for his showmanship and philanthropic work with youth development.
“You’ve got to be different,” Rodriguez said to Golf.com, according to the PGA Tour. “You’ve got to be yourself in the world. That’s what I always wanted to be.”
The PGA remembered the golfer with a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The organization called Rodriguez “a showman on the course, a tireless philanthropist off the course.”
Rodriguez performed on the course by twirling his club like a sword — referred to as his “matador routine” — or doing a celebratory dance when he hit a good shot.
He created the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, which is a charity based in Clearwater, Florida.
The foundation “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,” per its website.
Many others commented about Rodriguez with posts on X.
