Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Residence: San Antonio, Texas
Home Course: Oak Hills Country Club, San Antonio
College: Texas A&M
Interests: Hunting, fishing
Occupation: Golf professional
About Anthony Rodriguez:
The Golf Channel says:
Anthony Rodriguez was on the fast track and somehow it all slipped away.Two years removed from the Texas A&M campus he was being hailed as the next Latin star of the PGA Tour by the likes of Chi Chi Rodriguez. And he deserved the attention. In college he was a First Team All-American and led the nation with six wins in 1995.
Then reality hit. Despite flashes of success on Tour, like finishing 13th in the Canadian Open, he lost his playing card. Rodriguez felt he had let people down. "A-Rod," as he is called, first met Chi Chi when he was 14 and considers him a mentor. He didn't want to disappoint the former PGA Tour star or the Latino community, and the pressure took a toll.
His career took a slow downward spiral. After losing his Tour card, he played on the Nationwide Tour, where he had some success and twice posted second-place finishes. Eventually, in 2004, his lack of desire to keep chasing the dream led him to retirement.
It seemed like his career was over until he saw Jason Gore in the 2005 United States Open. Gore had been a journeyman pro but contended in the U.S. Open when he played in the final group on Sunday with two-time U.S. Open Champion Retief Goosen. Later in the year, Gore won his third event on the Nationwide Tour to earn a promotion to the PGA Tour, where he promptly won the 84 Lumber Classic.
Inspired, Rodriguez once again started playing competitive golf. Last year, he was the Canadian Tour's rookie of the year, which was ironic because other players gave him the nickname "Pops." He sees himself as a golf version of Crash Davis from the movie Bull Durham. Like Davis, he calls all the young guys "meat." The more it drives them crazy, the more he likes to do it.
"I've had a taste of the show and now I'm going to follow the dream wherever it leads me to try to get back to it," said Rodriguez. "I miss going into a golf course and the fraternity of it all." "The Big Break: Mesquite" is a great place for a dreamer and Rodriguez has the talent to make the vision reality.
Biography courtesy of The Golf Channel; used with permission
