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Chi Chi Rodríguez

The Pga Tour's Leading Comic



In the 25 years that he spent on the PGA tour, Rodríguez won a mere eight tournaments and a little over $1 million, but because of his attitude on the course Rodríguez was better known than his record would indicate. At a time when many golfers' idol was the silent, serious Ben Hogan, Rodríguez wisecracked for his gallery and did victory dances when he sank a putt.



His first signature victory dance, which involved throwing his ubiquitous snap-brimmed Panama hat over the hole, stemmed from an incident that happened when he was playing golf as a caddie. He and another boy were betting on a round. Rodríguez sank a 40-foot putt, but there was a toad in the hole and when the ball hit it, the toad hopped out, taking the ball with it and causing Rodríguez to lose a stroke. So Rodríguez started throwing his hat over the hole so the ball would not hop back out.

Some players on the PGA Tour, however, claimed that Rodríguez's hat messed up the turf around the hole, and he was asked to find another way to celebrate. This was the origin of his matador dance: Rodríguez "slays" the hole with his putter, wipes off the imaginary blood, and slides it with a flourish into his imaginary scabbard.

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Famous Sports StarsGolfChi Chi Rodríguez Biography - Disadvantaged Childhood, Hard Work, The Pga Tour's Leading Comic, Into The Sunset With A Swing