Chi Chi Rodriguez Visits Paducah for Charity Event

Golfing legend Chi Chi Rodriguez visited Paducah Thursday to participate in the Sunrise Children's Services golf outing at the Country Club of Paducah.

He visited WKYX studios with Kenny Hunt from A&K Construction, which has sponsored the event for years. 

The World Golf Hall of Famer’s career spanned more than four decades, where he won eight times on the PGA Tour and 22 times on the Champions Tour. His signature move after a birdie or eagle putt included colorfully fighting the ball like a matador with a sword (see video).

Rodriguez said that while he played against a lot of golfing greats like Lee Trevino and Jack Nicholas, today's players are also excellent, and appear to be much more disciplined than some of his contemporaries.

"You know, they asked Don January one time who was his psychologist, and he said, 'the bartender.' Now, these guys go to the gym, they train, and they go to church," he said.

Rodriguez told colorful stories about how he got into golf as a child and while in the U.S. Army, and about his time on the PGA and Champions tours. But, he also spoke about his poor childhood in Puerto Rico and how that led him to help establish schools to help kids through the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation.

Rodriguez said, "I was brought up in the ghettos. But, you know, God picks people to do His work. People ask me, 'how come you have a school in Clearwater, Florida?' And I say we gotta ask God that question, why he picked me to do that. Well, to make a long story short, we have the number one school - alternative school - in the state of Florida."

The Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy is a public-private partnership between the Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation and Pinellas County Schools.

His work with children relates well to the work of Sunrise Children's Services. Since 1869, they have provided therapeutic, residential and foster care programs for abused, abandoned, and victimized children throughout the state. 

The A&K Construction/Sunrise Children’s Services Golf Outing is Thursday at the Country Club of Paducah.

In this video, Chi Chi explains to Greg Dunker and Lew Jetton how to properly do the matador move without injury: