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19th Hole

David Ortiz shares his side of the story from his Mayakoba controversy with Matt Kuchar

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Matt Kuchar returns to the site of his 2018 Mayakoba victory this week—a week which proved extremely damaging to the 41-year-old’s public persona.

The result of last year’s win was overshadowed after Kuchar paid his stand-in caddie, David Ortiz, $5,000 for helping him to his eighth PGA Tour win and the $1.3 million prize at Mayakoba. After a messy, publicised back and forth, Kuchar eventually paid Ortiz $50,000, and over the weekend the Mexican caddie revealed his side of the story.

Speaking to the New York Post, Ortiz revealed that he carries no animosity towards Kuchar following the incident, stating

“Kuchar is a good person. I’m not angry. Everything is good. Not paying was not good. But I have no anger.”

Per the report, before the event, Kuchar’s deal with Ortiz was that he would pay the stand-in caddie $1,000 for the Tuesday practice round, $1,000 for the Wednesday pro-am and $3,000 for the tournament rounds (cut made, or no cut made).

However, Ortiz then requested 10 percent should Kuchar go on to win, to which the 41-year-old responded “Of course,” though Ortiz claims, “it felt like he was just looking at me like I’m this little guy.’’

Kuchar’s payment of $5,000 did not equal one percent of his winnings and led to plenty of vocal critics amongst golf fans and pundits alike.

It was then director of golf at El Camaleon, David Lopez, who got involved on Ortiz’ behalf. Lopez contacted Kuchar’s agent, Mark Steinberg, who curtly blew off Lopez’ request that Ortiz’ payment be increased, responding to his email saying “No. What we paid you is fair.”

Following Kuchar’s comments that, “For a guy who makes $200 a day, a $5,000 week is a really big week”, Lopez once again emailed Steinberg stating that the issue had now become a racial one, and per the report, two days later, Ortiz had been sent an extra $45,000.

All’s well that ends well for Ortiz, who explained to the Post how important the $50,000 is to him.

“Fifty thousand dollars, for me, is big. It’s everything to me and not much to (Kuchar). The $50,000 I needed for my business and to fix my kitchen and bathroom at home and to buy a new cell phone.”

 

 

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Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at [email protected].

19th Hole

Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for spot at 2024 U.S. Open

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As first reported by Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, Charlie Woods will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

The first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament will be an 18-hole local event on Thursday, April 25th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

There will be 84 players in the field, five of which will reach the 36-hole qualifier that will take place in June.

Earlier this season, Charlie attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic, and struggled, shooting an 86.

If the younger Woods is able to qualify, he will tee it up in the same field as his father in a few months at one of the more historic U.S. Open venues.

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19th Hole

Why Ludvig Aberg is my new favorite player – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, our members have been discussing one of the new sensations in the world of golf – Ludvig Aberg. The 24-year-old finished solo second at the Masters a couple of weeks ago, and gained many plaudits, including from several WRXers.

One member, RoyalMustang, took to the forums to explain why Aberg is now their favorite player, saying:

“I loved the way the Ludvig was out there, having a great time, not taking himself or the situation too seriously. Even after the double at 11, he was like “well, that’s golf!” Loose and relaxed: that’s the way to play. It’s obvious he loves what he’s doing, he loves the big moments, and he loves being a part of it all.

Arnold Palmer was viewed that way. Just like Brooks Robinson was forever viewed as not just a great baseball player, but a great human being and friend to Baltimore.”

And our members have been reacting and sharing their positive takes on the young Swede.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • redfirebird08: “Ludvig has a great attitude, a great smile, and a great golf swing.”
  • otto6457: “I’m very lucky to have talked with Ludde several times at the Rawls Course at Texas Tech.  He’s a truly nice guy and very friendly.  Always said hello when we passed each other in the club house and was always smiling. Watching him hit balls on the range was a joy.  He has “that sound” and trajectory to die for.  There were many times he was out on the range in 30+ mph winds just hitting the most beautiful shots that just seemed to ignore the wind.  World class ball striker. And yes……..I am a fan boy.”
  • konklifer: “I like him. In an era of endless waggles and laboring, his swing and pace of play are a joy to watch.

Entire Thread: “Why Ludvig Aberg is my new favorite player – GolfWRXers discuss”

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19th Hole

‘Absolutely crazy’ – Major champ lays into Patrick Cantlay over his decision on final hole of RBC Heritage

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Over the past year or so, PGA Tour star Patrick Cantlay has taken a great deal of criticism for his pace of play.

Now, Cantlay is once again under fire for a questionable decision he made on Sunday at the RBC Heritage.

After the horn sounded to suspend play due to darkness, Cantlay, whose ball was in the fairway on the 18th hole, had a decision to make. With over 200 yards into the green and extreme winds working against the shot, conventional wisdom would be to wait until Monday morning to hit the shot.

On the other hand, if he could finish the hole, he may just want to get the event over with so he could get out of Hilton Head.

Curiously, Cantlay chose neither of those options. After hitting 3-wood into the green, and still coming up short, the former FedEx Cup champion chose to mark his ball and return to chip and putt on Monday morning.

Ian Woosnam, who was watching from home, took to X to give his thoughts on Cantlay’s decision-making.

Cantlay would end up getting up and down for par when play resumed at 8:00 Monday morning.

Following his round, Cantlay explained his decision to wait to hit his third shot the next morning:

“I really did want to finish last night, so I felt like if I could get the ball up there maybe in an easier spot, maybe I would have finished, but as I got the ball up near the green, I realized it would be easier to finish this morning. That’s what I decided to do.”

GolfWRX has reached out to Patrick Cantlay’s management team for a response to Woosnam’s comments.

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