Masters star sunk a bottle of rum before teeing off and was happy with Augusta outcome

Golf icon Chi Chi Rodriguez once admitted he drank a bottle of rum before his maiden appearance at . The Puerto Rican hero appeared at on 14 occasions between 1961 and 1982.

Rodriguez, who was born in 1935 and passed away last August at the age of 88, was one of six siblings and worked as a water carrier on a sugar plantation to help his family earn money when he was growing up. He taught himself how to play golf while using a branch from a guava tree as a club and a metal can as a ball. After excelling at the sport as a child, he joined the US army at the age of 19 before becoming a professional golfer six years later in 1960.

Rodriguez's first appearance at the Masters came in 1961, but he failed to make the cut at Augusta.

And years later, he explained how he dealt with the pressures that came with the occasion.

"The first time I played the Masters, I was so nervous I drank a bottle of rum before I teed off," he said. "I shot the happiest 83 of my life."

Rodriguez, who won 30 career titles on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, went on to secure a joint 10th-place finish at the Masters in 1970 and 1973. He also notched top-10 finishes at the US Open in 1972 and 1981 and is considered to be the greatest Puerto Rican golfer in history.

"You've got to be different," he once stated. "You've got to be yourself in the world. That's what I always wanted to be."

And in a separate interview he insisted: "In life, you have to have goals - and I have conquered most of my goals. I didn't become the greatest golfer in the world, but I became the greatest Puerto Rican golfer."

Rodriguez, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992, was known for his charity endeavours away from the course.

And a host of tributes poured in following his passing, with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan stating: "Chi Chi Rodriguez's passion for charity and outreach was surpassed only by his incredible talent with a golf club in his hand.

"A vibrant, colourful personality both on and off the golf course, he will be missed dearly by the PGA Tour and those whose lives he touched in his mission to give back. The PGA Tour sends its deepest condolences to the entire Rodriguez family during this difficult time."