CHI CHI : Rodriguez Is Popular Addition to Growing Senior Golf Tour

Chi Chi Rodriguez, like most professional golfers, is thankful for the Senior PGA Tour. The popular Puerto Rican, who turned 50 last October, will enter his sixth event on the senior circuit in the $250,000 Johnny Mathis tournament, which begins today at MountainGate Country Club with the start of the pro-am competition.

“I would have retired three years ago, if there had not been a tour for the seniors,” Rodriguez said. “I do know that I’ll have to win all I can in the next four years. After that Jack (Nicklaus) will be eligible, and we can all forget it.”

In the case of Chi Chi Rodriguez, the reverse may be true. The Senior Tour may need Rodriguez more than he needs it. Next to Arnold Palmer and Nicklaus, Rodriguez may be the closest thing to a worldwide ambassador. He is in demand for clinics everywhere and could easily survive on those earnings alone, if he charged for them. It is his love of competition and association with people that keeps Rodriguez coming back.

Peter Thomson, defending champion at MountainGate, is speaking for all the veteran pros when he welcomes Chi Chi to the tour.

“He may take a little money from us but he is a wonderful addition to our tour,” said Thomson, who led the tour in winnings last year with $386,724.

“We need an infusion of new blood. Chi Chi will be a terrific asset. He is tremendously popular with fans and players. Wherever he plays, he has a big following. On top of that, Chi Chi is a wonderful fellow. He is a warm, witty individual.

“But don’t be fooled. When he plays, he is deadly serious. If you see him joking, you can be sure he’s not playing well.”

Chi Chi is hoping the Johnny Mathis will be his first breakthrough as a senior. He has been knocking on the door and figures it is about time they let him in. He has finished fifth twice, fourth twice and in his other event he finished tied for third last week at the Vintage Invitational. He said he was weakened by the flu and lost some 30 yards on his drives.

By the final round Sunday, Chi Chi, who is 5-7 1/2 and weighs only 132 pounds, apparently had regained all his strength. The sixth hole at the Vintage is 609 yards with a dogleg. Chi Chi reached it in two, saving about 20 yards by cutting off some of the dogleg.

Both PGA media guides list him as Juan Rodriguez. It’s ridiculous. Would anybody know Babe Ruth if he was referred to as George Ruth?

“When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, I was a baseball player,” Chi Chi said. “My idol was a player named Chi Chi Flores. I would go around saying, ‘I’m Chi Chi Flores.’ Pretty soon all the kids are calling me Chi Chi and I’ve been Chi Chi ever since.”

From poor beginnings, when he gravitated to golf by hitting tin cans with a guava-tree stick, Chi Chi has come a long way. He has won eight tournaments on the regular tour and earned more than $1 million. He is one athlete who has really shown his appreciation for his success. He believes in giving back some of himself.

Although he said he prefers not to talk about it because it sounds as though he’s seeking publicity, Chi Chi is well known for his generosity. He has formed a youth foundation with headquarters in Clearwater, Fla. which enables him to engage in his favorite pastime: helping youngsters. In Puerto Rico, he holds a celebrity golf tournament that has raised more than $500,000 for the Pediatrics Hospital.

“If you’re not good to kids, you’re not a good person,” Chi Chi said. “Kids grow up in a tough environment these days with all the violence and sex.

“The worst thing is abuse. There is no such thing as a bad kid. There are abused kids. If you abuse a kid now, those are the ones who, in 20 years, will abuse you.”

Wherever he goes, he gives free clinics. So, why does he give so much of himself?

“I don’t know why,” he said. “I asked God why I do it.”

Did he answer you?

“I guess so. The next day I was out doing it again.”

From the start of his professional career in 1960, Chi Chi has been a colorful figure. Early in his career, when he sank a birdie putt, he would take his hat and cover the hole. He said it was because he once sank a putt, there was a toad in the hole and the ball came out.

“Some of the players objected to me putting my hat over the hole so former Commissioner Joe Dey asked me to stop,” Chi Chi said. “I wanted to do something, so I came up with the conquering the bull routine.”

He will continue to do it, because fans still love it every time he finishes the routine by sheathing the putter into an imaginary scabbard.

A fact of life on both tours, but even more so for the seniors, is playing with amateurs. The amateurs, paying as much as $4,500 just to play two or three rounds with a professional, have helped make it possible for the Senior Tour to thrive. As a rule, the pros tolerate it. Chi Chi enjoys it and so do those fortunate enough to be in his group.

After one round at the Vintage when four amateurs and a pro played in a group and needed 5 1/2 hours to complete the round in 90-degree weather, most of the amateurs suffered from extreme fatigue. But not Chi Chi’s partners. They were laughing and joking, and when the round ended, they mobbed him.

There isn’t much doubt, Chi Chi Rodriguez is a valuable addition to the Senior Tour.