José de Jesús Rodríguez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Martínez.
José de Jesús Rodríguez
Personal information
Full nameJosé de Jesús Rodríguez Martínez
Nickname"Camarón" (Shrimp)[1]
Born (1981-01-22) 22 January 1981 (age 43)
Irapuato, Mexico
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight188 lb (85 kg; 13.4 st)
Sporting nationality Mexico
ResidenceIrapuato, Mexico
Spouse
Bianca González
​
(m. 2004)​
Children2
Career
Turned professional2007
Current tour(s)Korn Ferry Tour
Gira de Golf Profesional Mexicana
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
PGA Tour Canada
PGA Tour Latinoamérica
Professional wins36
Number of wins by tour
Korn Ferry Tour1
Other35
Achievements and awards
Canadian Tour
Order of Merit winner		2011
PGA Tour Latinoamérica
Order of Merit winner		2017
Gira de Golf Profesional Mexicana
Order of Merit winner		2019–20, 2023–24
Medal record
Central American and Caribbean Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Barranquilla Individual
Silver medal – second place 2023 San Salvador Individual

José de Jesús Rodríguez Martínez (born 22 January 1981) is a Mexican professional golfer who currently plays on the Korn Ferry Tour. Rodríguez has previously played on the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Canada, PGA Tour Latinoamérica, and the Tour de las Américas.[1][2][3]

Background

Rodríguez grew up in poverty in Irapuato, Mexico. He was one of seven siblings who slept shoulder-to-shoulder on the dirt floor of their one-room, bathroom-less adobe home. At the age of 12, he dropped out of school and began caddying full-time at Club de Golf Santa Margarita. That club is where he learned to golf. At the age of 15, Rodríguez crossed into the United States illegally by crossing the Rio Grande river. He worked in the U.S. for 10 years, mostly at a country club in Fayetteville, Arkansas as part of the maintenance crew. He worked six or seven days per week and did not have the time or money to golf.

Rodríguez sent most of his pay home to Irapuato, allowing his parents to build two homes on their piece of property. In 2006, at the age of 26, he returned to Irapuato, Mexico and began caddying again at Club de Golf Santa Margarita. Rodríguez ultimately met Alfonso Vallejo Esquivel, a wealthy club member, who saw his talent and offered to buy Rodríguez a membership at the course. Esquivel ultimately staked Rodríguez and allowed him to get his start as a pro golfer on the Mexican Tour in 2007.[4]

Rodríguez's nickname is Camarón (shrimp), because despite his complexion, his cheeks redden in the sun.[4]

Professional career

Rodríguez turned professional in 2007 and mainly played on the Mexican Tour during 2008, although he did make three starts on the Canadian Tour making the cut in all three. He achieved his first professional win in 2008 winning the event hosted in Puebla on the Mexican Tour.

In 2009, Rodríguez played an increased schedule on the Canadian Tour but failed to record a win in any events during the season.[5] His form on the Canadian Tour improved in 2010 where, despite a winless season, he achieved three top-three finishes in just eight starts.[6] His good form in 2010 was also apparent on the Mexican Tour in 2010 where he achieved four victories.[1]

2011 was a very successful season for Rodríguez on the Canadian Tour where he won consecutive events at the Mexican PGA Championship and Times Colonist Island Savings Open and went on to win the Tour's Order of Merit.[3] During the 2011 season, Rodríguez also won two events on the Mexican Tour taking him to a total of four wins for the season.[1]

In 2012, Rodríguez was granted membership on the inaugural season of PGA Tour Latinoamérica though his performances on the Mexican Tour and also played a reduced schedule on PGA Tour Canada. Despite not winning on either of the two development tours Rodríguez was able to win another two events on the Mexican Tour during 2012.[1]

In 2013, Rodríguez predominantly played on PGA Tour Latinoamérica and achieved his first victory at the Roberto De Vicenzo Invitational Copa NEC[7] which was quickly followed up with a second victory at the Arturo Calle Colombian Classic.[8] These two victories helped Rodríguez to a second place finish on the Tour's Order of Merit for 2013 which earned his playing card for the Web.com Tour in 2014. During 2013, Rodríguez achieved a further four wins on the Mexican Tour taking his career haul to a record of 13 wins on the tour.[1]

Rodríguez had two wins on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica in 2017 and led the tour's Order of Merit, earning him a return to the Web.com Tour for 2018, this time with full status.

In April 2018, Rodríguez won the Web.com Tour United Leasing & Finance Championship. He ended the 2018 season with enough money to qualify for the 2019 PGA Tour. He made three of his first five cuts on the PGA Tour during the 2019 season, but finished the season 177th in the points list, necessitating a return to the Korn Ferry Tour for its 2020 season.

Professional wins (36)

Web.com Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 29 Apr 2018 United Leasing & Finance Championship −6 (69-73-70-70=282) 1 stroke United States Wyndham Clark

PGA Tour Americas wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 31 Mar 2024 Totalplay Championship −14 (68-65-67-70=270) 1 stroke Argentina Jesús Montenegro

Canadian Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner-up
1 8 May 2011 Mexican PGA Championship −14 (67-71-69-67=274) Playoff Canada Roger Sloan
2 5 Jun 2011 Times Colonist Island Savings Open −13 (70-67-64-66=267) 2 Strokes United States Wes Homan

PGA Tour Latinoamérica wins (6)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 28 Apr 2013 Roberto De Vicenzo Invitational Copa NEC −17 (71-66-66-68=271) Playoff United States Timothy O'Neal, Argentina Sebastián Saavedra
2 3 Nov 2013 Arturo Calle Colombian Classic −14 (67-73-65-65=270) Playoff Colombia Manuel Villegas
3 19 Feb 2017 Avianca Colombia Open −15 (70-68-67-64=269) 2 strokes Colombia Nico Echavarría
4 20 Aug 2017 Abierto del Paraguay-Copa NEC −11 (68-69-67-73=277) 4 strokes England Kelvin Day
5 29 May 2022 Jalisco Open GDL −15 (66-67-72-64=269) 3 strokes United States Austin Hitt
6 25 Jun 2023 Jalisco Open GDL (2) −20 (66-68-65-65=264) 3 strokes United States Evan Knight

Gira de Golf Profesional Mexicana wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 14 Jun 2017 Etapa 2 −12 (63-67-68=198) 3 strokes Mexico Gerardo Ruiz
2 27 Aug 2017 Mayakoba Open −11 (68-66-71=205) 2 strokes Mexico Gerardo Ruiz
3 20 Sep 2017 Etapa 5 −17 (66-67-66=199) 7 strokes Colombia Camilo Aguado, Mexico Armando Favela,
Mexico Óscar Fraustro, Mexico Sebastián Vázquez
4 17 Nov 2017 Etapa 7 −8 (70-66-72=208) 1 stroke Mexico Carlos Ortiz, Mexico Armando Villarreal
5 13 Oct 2019 Copa Tequila Azulejos −10 (68-68=70=206) 1 stroke Mexico Gerardo Ruiz, Mexico Sebastián Vázquez
6 7 Mar 2021 Copa Tequila Azulejos (2) −10 (65-70-71=206) 1 stroke Colombia Camilo Aguado
7 5 Jun 2021 Amanali Classic −23 (68-60-65=193) 7 strokes Mexico Ángel Morales
8 19 Jun 2022 Etapa Final −9 (72-70-64-69=275) 1 stroke Guatemala José Toledo
9 20 May 2023 Altozano Open −8 (69-72-67=208) 1 stroke Mexico Óscar Serna, Mexico Juan Carlos Serrano
10 21 Jan 2024 El Salvador Open Championship −17 (63-70-66=199) 9 strokes Mexico Armando Favela, Argentina Mateo Fernández de Oliveira

Colombian Tour wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 31 Jul 2023 Abierto de Colombia −16 (65-68-61-74=268) 4 strokes Colombia Ómar Beltrán, Peru Julián Périco

PGA Tour Latinoamérica Developmental Series wins (1)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runners-up
1 22 Nov 2015 Baja California Open −5 (69-74-68=211) 1 stroke Mexico Cristian Romero, Mexico Óscar Serna

Mexico Golf Tour wins (14)

  • 2008 Puebla
  • 2010 Guadalajara, Mazatlan, Puebla, Mexico City
  • 2011 Guadalajara, Torreon
  • 2012 Yucatan, Monterrey
  • 2013 Yucatan, Veracruz, San Luis Potosi, Chihuahua
  • 2018 Queretaro

Team appearances

Professional

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "José de Jesús Rodríguez – Player Profile". PGA Tour Latinoamérica. Archived from the original on April 6, 2014. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Web.com Tour – Player Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "PGA Tour Canada – Player Profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Shipnuck, Alan (8 January 2019). "'The most unbelievable story in golf': A treacherous border crossing was just the beginning of José de Jesús Rodríguez's journey to the PGA Tour". Golf.com. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  5. ^ "PGA Tour Canada – José de Jesús Rodríguez (2009)". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  6. ^ "PGA Tour Canada – José de Jesús Rodríguez (2010)". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  7. ^ ""Camarón" Rodríguez finally has his day to celebrate on Tour". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  8. ^ "Rodríguez claims second playoff win, extends lead as Tour No. 1". PGA Tour. Retrieved May 1, 2014.