News
Matt Kuchar and David “El Tucan” Ortiz held clear-the-air talk at last month’s WGC-Mexico Championship
The Matt Kuchar-David Ortiz caddie pay dispute dating back to last year’s Mayakoba Classic came to an end last month, and according to a report from Golf.com, the two have since had a face-to-face meeting where both men apologized.
The controversy began after Kuchar had paid Ortiz just $5,000 for his part in the American’s victory at the 2018 Mayakoba Classic, and from there the story played out as a controversial soap opera, which culminated in Kuchar forking over an extra $45,000 in compensation after claiming he had “missed the boat with this one.”
Per Michael Bamberger’s report for Golf.com, the two men met each other in the clubhouse at the WGC-Mexico Championship and apologised to each other. Speaking on the 40-minute meeting where the two men buried the hatchet, Ortiz told Bamberger in a phone interview alongside an interpreter that
“Matt said, ‘Hey, David, how are you?’ I apologized for the (difficulty) the situation created. I told him it was never my intention to embarrass him, but I felt eventually I had to tell the truth. Matt also offered an apology. He said it was all a misunderstanding. He asked me how my family was. He showed me a picture of his family and a video of a hole-in-one made by one of his sons.”
Asked what it was like for him to see the additional $45,000 in his bank account, Ortiz’ translator said: “He is speechless.”
Matt Kuchar is in action at this week’s WGC Match Play. The 40-year-old is in Group 8 alongside Jon Rahm, J.B. Holmes and Si Woo Kim.
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News
Morning 9: Pendrith’s maiden Tour win | Morikawa back with former coach | Brooks victorious
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Morning 9: Tiger confirms playing schedule | Player: This caused Tiger’s downfall
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Stink Floyd
Mar 28, 2019 at 10:47 am
Kuchar PR Machine in full effect
Dave r
Mar 27, 2019 at 4:38 pm
Give it rest already .Its over done and the media is still beating it to death. Find something else to talk about get tired of this article on every golfwrx since it happened. Oh by the way get rid of Zinger ,talk about boreing.
Stephen
Mar 28, 2019 at 2:43 pm
Go to another golf website, then. There’s so many to choose from.
“Find something else to talk about get tired of this article on every golfwrx since it happened.”
Did you write this sentence with a fucking crayon!?
Dan
Mar 27, 2019 at 4:25 pm
I can’t stand Zinger as a commentator but he made a great point. He said “this guy isn’t a pro caddy, he doesn’t do the work a pro caddy does week in and week out, he doesn’t deserve 10%”. I’m not saying who’s right or wrong but it was a good point.
HP
Mar 28, 2019 at 6:48 am
He is right, and $50K is less than 5%. I hope Ortiz paid his income tax like rest of us.
Deshaun
Mar 27, 2019 at 3:31 pm
Social Media Extortion at its finest
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El Tuscan should donate the proceeds to fund the wall
Stephen
Mar 28, 2019 at 2:38 pm
Lol @ “extortion”. You’re a pussy if you think Kuchar was extorted. Don’t worry though, the twitter army won’t be coming after your money or the cash of other temporarily embarrassed millionaires.
robert
Mar 27, 2019 at 3:08 pm
Someone should pick up El Tucan on Monday to caddie for the week, agree to a % of winnings, and then miss the cut. I bet he wont complain in the future about a guaranteed flat fee
JP
Mar 27, 2019 at 8:15 pm
Better yet, how about NOBODY ever use him again. Unless you’re willing to get beaten to death in the media for Nottingham giving in to demands that fall outside any prior agreement. Just force this guy into a new line of work.
Stephen
Mar 28, 2019 at 2:32 pm
Is Kuchar dead!? Lol. You’re pretty fired up there, guy.
JP
Mar 28, 2019 at 7:01 pm
Not fired up, just hate to see this kind of extortion. It’s sad when a pregame agreement is followed PLUS a generous bonus was given, and that’s when the social media BS starts. Fired up? How about you go read the previous story on this and count the number of times Kuchar was called names and put down for completing his end of the deal and still gave the guy $1,000 tip. Those people pounding Kuchar seemed “fired up”.
Stephen
Mar 30, 2019 at 5:57 pm
How is what Kuchar experienced extortion? Extortion is when you’re coerced into giving money and it’s a criminal offense. If you think a bunch of people calling a guy a cheapskate is extortion than you’re pretty soft. The decision to pay more was Kuchar’s alone. Kuchar is doing just fine.
JP
Mar 30, 2019 at 6:59 pm
MAGA!
Stephen
Mar 30, 2019 at 9:16 pm
LOL – that’s you’re response!? Your previous comments made everyone think you’re racist. Thanks for removing any doubt!
cg
Mar 27, 2019 at 11:43 am
Yes, Matt Kuchar made a mistake. In fact, a shocking one. I had always been a fan, but this event changed how I felt about at him. However, he admitted his mistake and made things right. I like the fact that he personally met with the caddie, and gave him a more deserved compensation. “Kooch” is back on my list of favorites!
Stephen
Mar 28, 2019 at 2:34 pm
Well said!