Matt Kuchar will be paying up.
The golfer has been taking heat for days after it was revealed he stiffed caddie David Giral Ortiz at the Mayakoba Classic in November, paying him just $5,000 following at $1.296 million victory. Ortiz asked for $50,000 after being a fill-in for the tournament in Mexico. Caddies are usually paid a percentage.
On Friday, after his first round in the Genesis Open at the Riviera Country Club, Kuchar issued a statement saying he will pay Ortiz in full.
“I let myself, my family, my partners and those close to me down, but I also let David down,” Kuchar said. “I plan to call David tonight when I’m off the course to apologize for the situation he has been put in, and I have made sure he has received the full total that he has requested.”
Kuchar confirmed a Golf.com report earlier this week that he had a payment deal in place with Ortiz at the tournament, though there was not one for if Kuchar won the tournament. He later said he called the $5,000 payment “fair.”
“This week, I made comments that were out of touch and insensitive, making a bad situation worse,” he said. “They made it seem like I was marginalizing David Ortiz and his financial situation, which was not my intention. I read them again and cringed. That is not who I am and not what I want to represent. My entire tour career, I have tried to show respect and positivity. In this situation, I have not lived up to those values or to the expectations I’ve set for myself.”
Kuchar had experienced plenty of media vitriol leading up to the Genesis Open this week and was heckled on the course.
“Go low, Kuch, go low. Just not on the gratuity,” one fan yelled.
“I never wanted to bring any negativity to the Mayakoba Golf Classic,” Kuchar said in his statement. “I feel it is my duty to represent the tournament well, so I am making a donation back to the event, to be distributed to the many philanthropic causes working to positively impact the communities of Playa del Carmen and Cancún. For my fans, as well as fans of the game, I want to apologize to you for not representing the values instilled in this incredible sport. Golf is a game where we call penalties on ourselves. I should have done that long ago and not let this situation escalate.”
