Matt Kuchar Has Say On Caddie Pay Controversy
The American has come under fire for paying his stand-in caddie just $5,000 after his $1.3m Mayakoba Golf Classic win

The American has come under fire for paying his stand-in caddie just $5,000 after his $1.3m Mayakoba Golf Classic win
Matt Kuchar Has Say On Caddie Pay Controversy
Matt Kuchar says that he is "disappointed" and "sad" after controversy surrounding his payment to stand-in caddie David Girol Ortiz following his Mayakoba Golf Classic win.
In what has been a slight PR disaster for Kuchar, the nine-time PGA Tour winner has come under fire on social media for what we now know was a $5,000 caddie payment from a $1.3m cheque.
A regular Tour caddie would receive around 10% if a player wins a tournament so Kuchar's regular bagman would have earned $130,000 had he made the trip.
Kuchar spoke to Golf.com's Michael Bamberger at Riviera ahead of the Genesis Open where he confirmed that the agreement was that he'd pay 'El Tucan' $1,000 if he missed the cut, $2,000 if he made the cut, $3,000 if he had a top-20 and $4,000 if he had a top-10.
“The extra $1,000 was, ‘Thank you — it was a great week,'" he said.
"Those were the terms. He was in agreement with those terms. That’s where I struggle. I don’t know what happened. Someone must have said, ‘You need much more.'’”
Golf.com's Michael Bamberger said that Kuchar seemed embarrassed about the extra $15,000 that was offered to 'El Tucan' after the event, which the Mexican, who wanted $50,000, didn't accept.
“No thank you. They can keep their money,” he said to Golf.com regarding the offer.
The offer, Kuchar confirmed, came from his agent Mark Steinberg but would have come out of his own pocket, not the agency's.
Kuchar then went on to defend the payment he made to El Tucan, saying “For a guy who makes $200 a day, a $5,000 week is a really big week."
He was then asked where he falls on the tipping scale, “I think if you ask locker room attendants, they’ll tell you that they’re happy to see me. I’m no Phil Mickelson, but these guys are like, ‘Matt’s coming our way.’"
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Elliott Heath is our Senior Staff Writer and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news, features, courses and travel sections as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as four Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays at West Byfleet Golf Club in Surrey, where his handicap index floats anywhere between 2-5. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max
Hybrid: TaylorMade SIM Max
Irons: Mizuno MP5 4-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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