Rodriguez Is Getting Ready for January’s Skins Game for Seniors

As if Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Fuzzy Zoeller weren’t enough, the Skins Game brought in Chi Chi Rodriguez for comic relief.

The Cheech, who came out of Puerto Rico to become one of the most colorful players in the game’s history, was ostensibly here at PGA West to give a pre-Skins Game clinic, but he was also here to get the feel of the tournament format.

“We (the senior golfers) are going to have our own Skins Game in January,” Rodriguez said. “I want to be ready to get some of that money.”

The first Seniors Skin Game will match Rodriguez, Palmer, Gary Player and Sam Snead at the Turtle Bay course near Honolulu Jan. 28-29.

Chi Chi, 52, will be the young one in that group. Player is 54, Palmer 58 and Snead 75.

The purse here is $450,000. The seniors will play for $360,000.

“It pays to get past 50,” Rodriguez said with the familiar smile that has made him golf’s No. 1 ambassador. Golfers become eligible for senior tournaments on their 50th birthday.

It has certainly paid for him. Since joining the PGA Seniors Tour three years ago, Rodriguez has won $859,524, including $469,945 to lead the tour in earnings in 1987.

By contrast, Palmer won $128,000 this year.

Rodriguez won four tournaments in a row and 7 of 21 in senior competition. He is also the PGA Seniors champion.

“It makes a big difference playing with these guys and on the other tour,” he said. “For one thing, I can’t play with those young guys. On the Seniors Tour, I’m one of the top three long hitters. Over there, I’m one of the shorter ones.

“Also, I play better with the seniors because it’s more fun; there’s more camaraderie among the old guys. We’re still playing a game. It’s a job on the other tour.

“If there’s no Jack (Nicklaus) or Lee (Trevino) or Fuzzy (Zoeller) on the practice tee, it’s like a doctor’s office. Everyone is so business-like and serious, it’s no fun to be around them.”

In addition to playing 25 or so tournaments a year, Rodriguez puts on between 75 and 100 clinics for his two employers, Jack Nicklaus and Toyota, the sponsor of Saturday’s show.

“I’m getting so many clinics that I’ve got to cut down on my tournaments,” he said. “I’m making so much money now that I’ve got to find some time to spend it.”

The Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation in Clearwater, Fla., gets most of his money. Nine years ago, he started the project to give a second chance to young people with a troubled background by teaching them the various aspects of golf, including course maintenance and management.

Rodriguez credits his association with Nicklaus, which began five years ago, for his improved play.

“He gave me a lifetime contract to be on his staff and it made a fantastic difference in my approach to playing. This way, I’m financially in a position where I can free-wheel it. When you can do that, you can go for the wins.”

What does he do for Nicklaus?

“Anything he wants--commercials, public appearances, clinics, anything. I push his equipment, but that’s easy to do because it’s made me richer. When you play what the best (player) in the world plays, it gives you a lot of confidence.”

If there is one thing that nettles the ebullient Puerto Rican, it is the way in which the younger golfers criticize courses--notably PGA West--as being too difficult or unfair.

“This course right here (Stadium course of PGA West) is one of the greatest pieces of golf course architecture ever built,” he said. “If I were a young guy on the tour now, I would look for an opportunity to play a course like that.

“Most of the courses today, the guys shoot 20 under par and think they’ve accomplished something. They can’t do that here because you can’t hit it crooked and score. They’re used to hitting a drive 100 yards off line and still making a birdie. You hit it 100 yards off line here and you’re in deep, deep trouble.

“Golf was meant to be a game of skill, not just strength. To get around here, you have to have the skills.”

As if to prove he still has the skills, Rodriguez shot a one-under-par 71 from the 7,271-yard black tournament tees Thursday.

Complaints about the difficulty of the Pete Dye-designed course after last February’s Bob Hope Classic led tournament officials to move across the street to the PGA West Arnold Palmer course for next year’s Hope tournament.

Rodriguez sees two more good years for himself on the Seniors Tour.

“I’m going to try and make as much as I can until Lee Trevino and Jack Nicklaus come in,” he said.

Which won’t be long. Trevino will be 48 Tuesday, and Nicklaus is 47.