PublishedJuly 1, 2024 2:48 PM EDT |UpdatedJuly 1, 2024 2:48 PM EDT
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Matt Kuchar says he hasn’t paid for a round of golf in about 30 years, and while it’s rare to hear of a professional golfer paying to play golf, a three-decade streak of playing for free is pretty on point given Kuchar’s experience. (fairly cheap) past.
Professional golfers, whether they are Touring Professionals, PGA Teachers, or even players trying to make a living on mini-tours, often have access to courses for free or at least at a greatly reduced rate. There are certainly exceptions to this “rule,” as a no-name pro can’t call Pebble Beach or TPC Sawgrass, for example, and say “Hey, put me on the tee tomorrow.”
Of course, Kuchar is no anonymous player. He’s a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, a former Top Five player in the world and a four-time Ryder Cup player, meaning the number of courses he can access for free far outweighs the courses he’d have to fork over a couple hundred dollars to play.
All told, for Kuchar to tell Sports Illustrated that he hasn’t paid for a single round of golf since before his college days at Georgia Tech in the mid-’90s is both stunning and hysterically characteristic, given his history of not exactly paying his caddie his fair share.
Matt Kuchar notoriously underpaid his caddy after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Credit: Kyle Robertson-KeynoteUSA Sports
We have to go back to November 2018, when Kuchar won the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico for context here.
Kuchar did not have his regular caddy, John Wood, on the bag that week and instead hired a local caddy, David Giral Ortiz. He won that week and earned just under $1.3 million to add to his career earnings, which were already over $50 million.
Typically, players pay their caddies about 10% of their tournament earnings, especially after a win when they take home a life-changing check. Instead of writing Ortiz a check that should have been around $130,000, Kuchar paid him $5,000 in cash.
Kuchar and Ortiz apparently reached an agreement in which he would pay the caddy $1,000 if the golfer missed the cut, $2,000 for making the cut, $3,000 for finishing in the top 20 and $4,000 for finishing in the top 10, but there is no disposition about what could happen. if Kuchar found the winner’s circle.
Kuchar won again in January at the Sony Open, and the story of Ortiz being cheated by Kuchar quickly began circulating on social media, with the caddie claiming he was offered an extra $15,000 but turned it down knowing he was entitled to much more.
On his return trip to Mayakoba the following year, Kuchar apologized for how he handled the situation, but also played the victim card.
“That was kind of hard for me and my family, but it was really hard when I heard from my grandmother and she was reading headlines about her grandson,” Kuchar said. “I think I’ve always tried to make her proud. I have my own children, you try to set a good example.
“I’m disappointed in myself. It’s a moment I’m not proud of, but it’s one of those things where you do your best as a parent to teach your kids lessons, and there’s nothing better than showing them that you’re doing your best.” can to correct it and try to move forward and keep a positive attitude.
Kuchar’s grandmother may have been upset to see her grandson slandered for paying his caddy too little after winning more than $1.2 million in one week, but it’s safe to say Ortiz felt much worse than Nanna.
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