The age of 40 is looking good for Matthew Gregory Kuchar, better known as Matt Kuchar, at least on the sporting level. The American player born on June 21, 1978 in Winter Park, Florida, is living a period of splendor that so far this season has resulted in two victories and a fourth place.
In fact, it is being along with 2016 the best of his seasons in number of triumphs since, in 2000, after graduating in Business Administration at the university, he turned professional and in 2001 enrolled in the US PGA Tour. His performances this season up to the beginning of February had earned him almost three million dollars in prize money, accumulating total earnings of 46.6 million on the American Tour, where he won the first of his nine victories in 2009 (Turning Stone Resort Championship). The following year he added his second victory and finished the season second in the FedExCup, and his next triumphs took place in 2012, 2013 (2) and 2014. Among the most renowned titles he has achieved in his career are the Players Championship in 2012 and the World Golf Championship Match Play in 2013.
After his 2014 victory, Kuchar would spend four years without tasting the sweetness of victory, until last November, already in the calendar of the current 2019 season, he won the Mayakoba Golf Classic, in the Riviera Maya, where he curiously hired a Mexican caddie expressly for the occasion. His last victory for the moment came last January at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Apart from his first tournament of the season, in which he finished 57th, in the other six he had played up to the beginning of February he had finished in the top-25, including his first two and fourth places.
Kuchar, who has frequented the top ten in the world ranking in different periods since 2010, reaching his best position -fourth- in June 2013, is in good shape. He now hovers around 20th.
In majors, his best finish has been second at the 2017 British Open (he was three strokes behind Jordan Spieth), third at the 2012 Augusta Masters and fifth at the 2014 Augusta Masters, sixth at the 2010 US Open and tenth at the 2010 US PGA Championship.
In the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Kuchar won the bronze medal, and in 2011 the World Cup and Presidents Cup representing the United States. The Florida player has played three editions of the Ryder Cup, scoring 5 points in 11 matches.
The $5,000 of discord
Kuchar’s victory last November at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, a US PGA Tour tournament played in the Riviera Maya, continues to bring tails despite the time elapsed. The bone of contention is the $5,000 paid to him by his Mexican caddie, David “El Tucan” Ortiz, after he earned $1.3 million dollars for his victory in the spectacular El Camaleon Mayakoba course.
Kuchar said he was “disappointed” and “saddened” by the criticism he is receiving as a result of that payout, which he said is based on the fact that regular caddies for Tour pros are usually paid ten percent of the prize money, which in this case would have been $130,000. For a club caddie at a resort used to earning $100 to $200 a day, that would be a monumental sum.
In February, in an interview with Golf.com, he explained once again what was the agreement he had reached with the caddie before the tournament. “I was very clear on Tuesday (of the week of the competition): I offered him the possibility of earning up to $4,000 with the bonuses, and he accepted.”
Kuchar related that he told Ortiz he would pay him $1,000 if he missed the cut, $2,000 if he made the cut, $3,000 if he was top 20 and $4,000 if he finished in the top 10. “The additional 1,000 was in appreciation for a great week. Those were the terms and he agreed to them. I don’t know what happened. Someone must have told him, ‘You need a lot more.'”
Ortiz said in a recent interview that he was given an envelope with cash Sunday night after the tournament and counted it after Kuchar had left. In another interview shortly after the Mayakoba tournament, the Mexican caddie said he still expected to receive a bonus check for the victory. He did not believe he had been paid in full.
‘El Tucan’ said he would not be interested in working for Kuchar again, although he described him as a “good person and a great player.” Ten weeks after the tournament, Ortiz was offered an additional bonus of 15,000, but he turned it down . In an interview he said, “No, thank you. They can keep their money.” He said he believed a 50,000 payout would have been adequate.
Kuchar felt a bit embarrassed that Ortiz had been offered that additional sum. “It was the agency,” he said, referring to Excel Sports Management, which represents him. Kuchar’s agent, Mark Steinberg, is also the agent for Tiger Woods and Justin Rose.
Kuchar smiled and said, “It’s not coming out of Steinberg’s pocket.” In other words, Kuchar was implicitly acknowledging that the money was coming out of his. He said the additional payment offered was Steinberg’s effort at damage control.
Family matters
A resident of St. Simon Island, Georgia, a hiking and skiing enthusiast, married and father of two boys, Kuchar began playing golf at age 12 when his mother, Meg, enrolled her husband and son in the sport at the country club where they were members. Matt and his father gave it a try and were hooked.
His father, Peter, is an excellent tennis player who once ranked first in doubles in the state of Florida. Matt also played very well with the racquet, until he turned to golf.
His wife, Sybi, was a standout tennis player at the university where they met. In October 2009 they won the consolation title of the USTA National Husband/Wife Doubles Tennis Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Matt is involved with Camp Twin Lakes, a program for children with serious illnesses, disabilities and other life challenges, as well as the Jacksonville Ronald McDonald House.
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