19th Hole
Twitter user Legal Hooks: Matt Kuchar disrespected me when I was a 16-year-old caddie
With Matt Kuchar’s character being called into question by many golf fans after the nine-time winner on the PGA Tour justified paying stand-in caddie David Ortiz $5,000 at last year’s Mayakoba Classic, a can of worms appears as if it may be about to spill open.
Going by the username of Legal Hooks, a Twitter user who allegedly caddied within the same group as Matt Kuchar at the 2006 Rheem Classic on the then Nationwide Tour, has claimed that Kuchar treated the then 16-year-old in an unfavorable manner.
In Legal Hooks’ social media thread, he claims that while in the group caddying for Bryce Molder, as the players exited the clubhouse, minus Molder who had made a pit-stop, the players and caddies began to hand out ice cream, which is when his experience turned sour.
Treating this with the requisite grain of salt necessitated in the social mediaverse, here’s the thread.
Chez & the 4th guy in the group hand some free ice cream to their caddies. Matt turns to me and hands me what I thought was ice cream for me. I tell him thank you very much and start to open it. He yells at me to stop like I'm about to set off a bomb. 4/8
— Legal Hooks (@LegalHooks) February 12, 2019
He yanks it out of my hand and stares down at me (he's about a foot taller than me at this time) and says, "No, that's for Bryce, not you" and then walks over and puts it on the bag. I sheepishly apologize and go stand by myself. 5/8
— Legal Hooks (@LegalHooks) February 12, 2019
According to the then caddie, Kuchar “hadn’t a single kind word (to say) to me or act like I even existed” throughout the day. The reaction of Kuchar’s caddie, which involved tapping the youngster on the back and offering him a granola bar, is a sign to Legal Hooks that he wasn’t the first or last to be treated disrespectfully by the former Players champ.
So, this is a long rant just to say that Kuch has always been a guy who demeaned and talked down to caddies. I'm sure he treats all "the help" like that. I'm glad the story about #ElTucan came out so that everyone can see it. 8/8
— Legal Hooks (@LegalHooks) February 12, 2019
The backlash against Kuchar appears to be gathering pace, with plenty of people on social media voicing their disappointment at the 40-year-old’s handling of the caddie dispute involving David Ortiz. Previous incidents, which made little impact on golf fans, such as the one below, look a lot more cynical all of a sudden and are gaining much more traction than they did when they first surfaced.
Matt Kuchar gave @AndrewColtart the silent treatment live on TV at the #USOpen ???????????? https://t.co/JWi9FvsGNh
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 14, 2017
As business mogul Warren Buffett once said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Kuchar may be finding out the truth of that adage the hard way.
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On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.
The second Phil Mickelson retires he'll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/ulrtBHcyB6
— Chris McKee (@mrmckee) May 7, 2024
“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”
Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.
Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality…
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) May 8, 2024
“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”
While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.
PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.
Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in. @NUCLRGOLF @Daniel_Rapaport @PGA https://t.co/8Snkq0l2Vg
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ???? @NUCLRGOLF @Daniel_Rapaport @acaseofthegolf1
— Dylan Wu (@dylan_wu59) May 7, 2024
“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”
“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”
“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”
Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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On Tuesday, the full field for the PGA Championship at Valhalla was released. In some surprising news, a handful of LIV players were granted exemptions including Dean Burmester, Patrick Reed, Lucas Herbert and Adrian Meronk.
The most surprising omission was Louis Oosthuizen. The South African has been one of the most consistent players on LIV this season, and also won two DP World Tour events in the fall.
According to the AP’s Doug Ferguson, Oosthuizen was actually given an invitation, but declined due to “personal commitments”.
Turns out PGA offered Oosthuizen an invitation. He turned it down because of personal commitments. Not sure what those were.
— Doug Ferguson (@dougferguson405) May 7, 2024
In total, there will be 16 LIV golfers teeing it up next week at Valhalla.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
New here?
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