Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez, who rose from poverty in Puerto Rico to the Golf Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 88, the PGA Tour announced Thursday.

“He was a vibrant, colorful personality both on and off the golf course. He will be sorely missed by the PGA TOUR and all whose lives he touched with his mission to give back,” said PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan.

During his three decades as a professional, Rodriquez won 37 golf victories, including eight on the PGA Tour and 22 on the Seniors Tour.

Born into a poor Puerto Rican family, Rodriquez taught himself to play, using simple clubs made from the branches of a guava tree to hit crushed tin cans on baseball fields.

His father worked as a sugar cane cutter and at the age of seven he helped him on the plantations as a water carrier.

One day he came to a golf course frequented by wealthy tourists and discovered that the caddies there made more money. He joined them and did not give up the caddying job until he was 19 to join the US Army.

He was always considered an entertainer and celebrated birdies by swinging his putter like a daring swordsman.

Rodriquez played in local Puerto Rican tournaments before joining the PGA Tour in 1960.

He won his first tour title in 1963 and his last PGA Tour Champions title in 1993.

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