Rodriguez Has Gone on the Lamb to Find Youth

How far would you go to feel young again? Chi Chi Rodriguez decided on Bavaria.

That’s where Rodriguez, 60, traveled in January so he could receive injections of lamb hormones, which are supposed to make you feel like a spring chicken instead of an old goat.

According to Rodriguez, five million Germans have felt renewed as a result of the hormone injections.

“It’s a fountain of youth,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve never felt better in my entire life.”

However, he has played better golf. Last year was the worst of Rodriguez’s 10 years on the Senior PGA Tour. He was 54th on the money list and had only one top-10 finish.

Rodriguez finished in a tie for 65th Sunday in the FHP Health Care Classic at Ojai. In his other two tournaments, he tied for 32nd at the Royal Caribbean Classic and tied for 44th at the American Express Invitational.

The reaction to Rodriguez’s lamb hormone injections has been about what you would expect from his peers.

Jim Colbert said he had just one comment: “Baaaa baaa.”

Dave Stockton was skeptical: “I go down to get Mexican food instead. It’s cheaper than flying to Germany.”

Gary Player said the closest he has come to lamb hormone injections is when he is served lamb chops.

“But that’s his choice,” Player said. “Me, personally, I’d rather be on an exercise program, following a good diet and taking some good, solid vitamins.”

Rodriguez quit smoking last year and blamed that on his golf problems.

“But I feel great,” he told Golf World. “I could go run nine holes right now. I just couldn’t play them.”

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Ryder rut: Stockton said the PGA of America goofed by naming Tom Kite the Ryder Cup captain--now instead of later.

“He deserves it, but he could easily have waited until [1998],” Stockton said. “I wish somebody from the PGA would wake up and pick someone 48 to 50 years old. You’ve got to stop picking guys who are young.”

Kite, 46, replaces Lanny Wadkins, who was 45 when he replaced Tom Watson, who was 41 when he replaced Stockton, who was appointed when he was 49.

“It was perfect timing because I turned 50 a month and a half after the Ryder Cup,” Stockton said. “I just hope they start picking captains when their [PGA Tour] playing days are winding down.”

Passed over in favor of Kite was Larry Nelson, 48, a two-time PGA champion.

Nelson was “an obvious choice,” according to Stockton, who also said Hale Irwin told him he felt slighted by not being considered.

“Hale said he was disappointed he was overlooked,” Stockton said.

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Black Knight: Why does Player wear black? Wearing basic black has become his visual trademark, but what’s the reason he chose as a symbol the color of a double bogey?

“I was very keen on westerns,” Player said. “One of my favorites was the one featuring a character named Paladin, called ‘Have Gun Will Travel.’

“He had a calling card that had a black knight on it. I saw that guy dressed in black, silver holster, and I thought, ‘Man, this is kind of neat.’

“My father said I needed a trademark. He said, ‘Why not dress in black and be known as the Black Knight?’

“Arnold Palmer has got the umbrella, Jack Nicklaus the Golden Bear, Lee Trevino the sombrero,” said Player, who has done all right with the Black Knight.

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Player philosophy: Life on the Senior PGA Tour isn’t just about a bunch of 50-something golfers making money, Player said.

“This is a tour with a great message,” he said. “The people who come to see us play think they’re getting old, then they see guys shooting 64, 65 or 66. So we’re able to give the average man a sense of ‘Does age mean anything?’

“We’re brain-washed about age. We are made to retire when we are 55. That’s when we are at our peak. We have so much experience. But our society is told that getting old is bad: birthday cakes, candles, retiring, advertising, glorifying youth.

“Well, I’m 60 and I’m more active than I’ve ever been in my whole life.”

Golf Notes

The GolfExpo will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Anaheim Convention Center, where new equipment will be on display. . . . A new event on the LPGA tour, the Twelve Bridges LPGA Classic, will be played April 4-7 at Twelve Bridges Golf Club in Lincoln, Calif., about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento. Meg Mallon, Annika Sorenstam of Sweden and Karrie Webb of Australia head the field. The $500,000 event will open the new 18-hole course. . . . History lesson: This week, in what is believed to be a first, a father and his two sons played tournaments the same week on three different pro tours. Dave Stockton, 54, played the FHP Health Care Classic on the Senior PGA Tour, Dave Stockton Jr., 27, played the Doral-Ryder Open on the PGA Tour and Ronnie Stockton, 25, played the Inland Empire Open on the Nike Tour.