Phil Rodgers, 5-time tour winner and noted teacher, dies

SAN DIEGO — Phil Rodgers, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who became one of golf’s top instructors, died after a long battle with leukemia. He was 80. Rodgers died Tuesday morning at his home near San Diego. Rodgers developed into one of top young players in the 1950s under Paul Runyan at La Jolla Country Club, winning an NCAA title at Houston. He won the 1962 Los Angeles Open for his first PGA Tour title, closing with a 62 for a nine-shot victory. That also was the pro debut of Jack Nicklaus. They were rivals and friends, and Nicklaus later leaned on Rodgers for help with his short game. Nicklaus gave Rodgers credit for his U.S. Open and PGA Championship victories in 1980. “We lost one of