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Matt Kuchar greets the crowd after making a birdie on the eighth hole as the first-round game continues during the Genesis Open Golf Tournament at the Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.
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LOS ANGELES >> Matt Kuchar is apologetic today for his insensitive remarks about the caddy that he had used at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico City last fall and had announced that he would not be able to do anything else. he would pay the $ 50,000 requested by the cadet.
He also announced that he would donate to the tournament for distribution to charitable organizations in the Cancun area.
"Golf is a game in which we claim penalties," Kuchar said in a statement issued by the PGA Tour. "I should have done it a long time ago and not let this situation get worse."
Kuchar's regular cadet was unable to travel to Mexico in November. So he called on David Ortiz from the El Camaleon golf club. Kuchar won for the first time in over four years and earned $ 1,296,000.
Ortiz received $ 5,000.
Kuchar defended the payment – ordinary PGA Tour cadets usually get 10% of the winner – saying that they had an agreement earlier this week. In an interview with golf.com, Kuchar said that he did not understand why there was such a craze on social media.
"For a guy who earns $ 200 a day, a $ 5,000 week is a very good week," said Kuchar.
Ortiz told the website that he did not expect the remaining 10% to be full-time cadets, but that he thought it was worth $ 50,000. He testified that he sent three emails to Kuchar's agent, Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management, to whom he had offered an additional $ 15,000, but had declined because he found it unacceptable.
He now has his money after Kuchar spent the last two days defending the arrangement.
"This week, I made disconnected and insensitive comments, which aggravated the situation," said Kuchar. "They made me believe that I was marginalizing David Ortiz and his financial situation, which was not my intention. I read them again and trembling. This is not what I am and now what I want to represent. "
Kuchar, who opened the game today with a 68 at the Genesis Open, said he would call Ortiz after today 's match, which he said was late. .
"I made sure he received the total amount he asked for," Kuchar said.
The situation came when PGA Tour champion Tom Gillis tweeted in January – while Kuchar was about to win another victory at the Sony Open – which he had paid only 3 $ 1,000 to a local Mayakoba Classic shopping cart. Asked about it in Honolulu, Kuchar replied that it was not $ 3,000, nor 10%, a difference of about $ 125,000.
In the golf.com interview, Kuchar suggests that someone has persuaded Ortiz to ask for more.
"I was very clear and very forthright. And he said, "OK." He had the ability, with bonuses, to earn up to $ 4,000, "Kuchar told the website.
He said the deal was $ 1,000 if he missed the cut, $ 2,000 if he did it, $ 3,000 if he was in the top 20 and $ 4,000 if he was listed. in the top 10. the week.
"He agreed with these terms," Kuchar said. "This is where I fight. I do not know what happened. Someone had to say, "You need a lot more".
The apology and the payment are a big step forward to end a saga that, according to Kuchar, has been mainly on social networks. However, players in the field paid more attention than Sergio Garcia, injuring five greens and getting disqualified in Saudi Arabia.
"I've never wanted to bring negativity to the Mayakoba Golf Classic," Kuchar said. He did not mention the magnitude of the gift that he was making or the philanthropic causes that he would support in Playa del Carmen and Cancun.
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