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 won $1.3 million dollars for his victory at the spectacular El Camaleón Mayakoba course.
Kuchar said he was “disappointed” and “saddened” by the criticism he is receiving as a result of that payment, which is based on the argument that the usual caddies of Tour professionals usually receive 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.
And this week, in an interview with Golf.com, he again explained what the agreement he had reached with the caddie before the tournament was. “I was very clear on Tuesday (of tournament week): he had a chance to make up to $4,000 with the bonuses, and he agreed.”
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.
“I think people know me well enough to know I wasn’t trying to get my way – that’s not how it works,” Kuchar said. He added that some players were giving him a hard time over the caddie pay controversy.
Kuchar said he didn’t quite understand why the pay dispute has become such an emotional issue. The $2,000 amount against a $1.3 million prize seemed meager, he admitted, but said he had a different view.
“For a person making $200 a day, a $5,000 week is really a big week,” he said.
“I try to look on the bright side of everything,” Kuchar said. “I hope he’s happy, I hope things are really good in his life. I have to think that if he was given the same opportunity to do it again, he’d say ‘yes.’ He’s got a good character. He’s easy to be with. The picture of the two of us with the trophy, that will always be on my office wall.”
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