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Matt Kuchar has blamed people ‘getting in the head’ of David Giral Ortiz for sparking the row over his controversial $20,000 pay offer to the Mexican caddie who helped him win $1.3million.
Kuchar actually only paid Ortiz $5,000 after they teamed up to win the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November because the caddie rejected his offer of a further $15,000. Ortiz said earlier this week that he felt the amount was ‘unacceptable’.
The four-time Ryder Cup player, who is ranked 22 in the world and has earned over $46m in prize money during his career, added that Ortiz should consider earning $5,000 ‘a great week’.
Matt Kuchar poses with local caddie David Giral Ortiz after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November; he paid just $5,000 for his services despite winning $1.3million that week
Kuchar, 40, confirmed he had paid Ortiz that sum after claiming his his ninth PGA Tour victory at Mayakoba, and claimed that was even more than they had initially agreed upon. But he has been accused of short-changing the caddie.
It is standard for caddies on the PGA Tour to earn five per cent of their player’s winnings for the week, with that percentage increasing for a top-10 finish, up to 10 per cent for a victory. That would have seen Ortiz earn $130,000 at Mayakoba.
However, a stand-in caddie is not usually paid the same amount as a player’s regular caddie. Kuchar’s usual bag man, John Wood, decided not to travel to Mexico that week, leading to Ortiz’s temporary appointment.
Kuchar has now insisted that he has done nothing wrong, even arguing that he had exceeded the amount Ortiz should have expected to be paid.
‘It’s kind of too bad that it’s turned into a story. I really didn’t think it was a story because we had an arrangement when I started,’ Kuchar told the Golf Channel.
‘I’ve done enough tournaments and had enough weekly caddies, and I’m very clear about what the payment will be. And we had an arrangement Tuesday that David was OK with, and I thought Sunday he was very much OK with it.
‘I kind of feel like unfortunately some other people have got it in his head that he’s deserving something different than what we agreed upon. And it’s just too bad that it’s turned into a story, because it doesn’t need to be. We had a great week.’
Kuchar said he now considered the matter closed and is not ‘losing sleep’ over the complaints from Ortiz. ‘If he had the chance to do it over again, same exact deal, he’d say yes again,’ Kuchar added.
‘Listen, I feel like I was fair and good,’ said Kuchar. ‘You can’t make everybody happy. You’re not going to buy people’s ability to be OK with you, and this seems to be a social media issue more than anything. I think it shouldn’t be, knowing that there was a complete, agreed-upon deal that not only did I meet but exceeded.
‘So I certainly don’t lose sleep over this. This is something that I’m quite happy with, and I was really happy for him to have a great week and make a good sum of money. Making $5,000 is a great week.’
Kuchar’s alleged pay has been criticised and the caddie has complained of unfair treatment
David Giral Ortiz has also claimed that he rejected an offer of a further $15,000
Former PGA Tour player Tom Gillis was critical of Kuchar on Twitter back in January. ‘If Kuchar wins this weekend (at the Sony Open) let’s hope he pays his man more than ($3,000) like the last win. ($45 million) in (career) earnings. Could’ve changed the man’s life.’
Gillis has since deleted the tweet and changed the amount he says Kuchar paid to $5,000.
Ortiz, 40 is known as El Tucan (The Toucan) and is local to the luxury Mayakoba resort, near Cancun. He lives in a small house and had hoped to use his prize money to start a laundrette with his wife, according to golf.com, who also report that he spent his payment on painting his house, new curtains, a mirror and flying his daughter home for Christmas.
Ortiz has claimed that Kuchar promised him a flat fee of $3,000, plus an unspecified winnings bonus.
He also claims that, after the tournament, Kuchar handed him an envelope with $5,000 in cash, made up of $100, $50, $10 and $5 bills.
Kuchar said of Ortiz after winning the Sony Open in Hawaii: ‘He was definitely my lucky charm. He brought me good luck and certainly some extra crowd support and did a great job as well. He did just what I was hoping for and looking for.’
Ortiz gave an interview to golf.com earlier this week, saying: ‘Matt is a good person and a great player. He treated me very well. I am only disappointed by how it all finished.’
On the offer of the extra $15,000 Ortiz said: ‘No thank you. They can keep their money.’
Former PGA Tour player Tom Gillis called out Kuchar on Twitter for his pay offer
He made a pointed reference to Kuchar’s enormous $45m career earnings (now $46m)
Ortiz also claims to have written an email to Kuchar’s agent, Mark Steinberg, in January asking for a ‘fair’ payment for his work and complaining that he was ‘taken advantage of’. He claims he used Google translate to turn his Spanish words into English.
The email allegedly read: ‘I am a humble man, who takes care of his family, and works hard. I am reaching out to you to see if you can facilitate me receiving a fair amount for my help with Matt winning $1,296,000. I am not looking to disparage Matt or give him a bad name. Fair is fair, and I feel like I was taken advantage of by placing my trust in Matt.’
Kuchar’s agent, Mark Steinberg, told golf.com: ‘The reports on what Matt’s caddie was offered are wildly inaccurate. However, it is inappropriate to discuss those amounts publicly.’
Asked recently if he would want to caddie for Kuchar again, Ortiz said, ‘No thank you. I’m a little bit p***ed, a little bit confused.’
Kuchar plays in the prestigious LA Open this week, hosted by Tiger Woods, where the field will play for a share of $7.4m.
Kuchar has defended his payment, saying that $5,000 was a larger sum than they had agreed
The world No 22 insisted that Ortiz would accept the same deal were he offered it again
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