Early this week Matt Kuchar hired a local caddie.
His nickname is "El Tucan."
Today they won @MayakobaGolf. 🏆#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/xavAnqM5qw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 11, 2018
I’m not a golf etiquette expert like some on social media who keep track of such things, but one look at the golf experts on Twitter today will tell you that Matt Kuchar isn’t winning the PR war after it came out that he gave his caddie $5,000 after winning $1.296 million at the Mayakoba Golf Classic back in November. David “El Tucan” Ortiz was filling in as Kuchar’s caddie that day and he’s been under the impression that he deserves a 5% share of that purse.
UPDATE: Matt Kuchar responds, doubles down on Tucan
Ortiz says he’s been offered more money by Kuchar’s management team, but he told them to shove it and now this has reached all the way to a story in Golf.com with Ortiz putting a few things on the table:
In a Jan. 24 email Ortiz sent to Mark Steinberg, Kuchar’s agent, the caddie wrote, “I am a humble man, who takes care of his family, and works hard. I am reaching out to you to see if you can facilitate me receiving a fair amount for my help with Matt winning $1,296,000. I am not looking to disparage Matt or give him a bad name. Fair is fair, and I feel like I was taken advantage of by placing my trust in Matt.”
…
Asked how he felt about the offer to receive what he said would be an additional and final $15,000 payment, Ortiz said, “No thank you. They can keep their money.”
…
Ortiz said he did not expect to be paid what a Tour caddie would have made, but said he believed his work and contribution toward the win was worth $50,000.
Now let’s go back to November when Kuchar won the tournament and had this to say about his local caddie who stepped in at the last minute. From Golf.com:
“[El Tucan is] definitely my lucky charm,” Kuchar said on Sunday night. “It was great having him with me. I feel like he brought me good luck, some extra crowd support, and did a great job as well. So he was great on the bag. Did just what I kind of was looking for and hoping for.”
C’mon KOOOOOOOOCH, you going to do the guy like this? You know $50k will change this guy’s life forever and you’ll spend that on private jets before The Masters. The guy had to pressure you to even get a $15,000 offer which is still insulting. Now you’re about to lose the PR battle — this isn’t going to be a good look for aww schucks Kuchar. You have to figure a sponsor steps in and makes this all go away, right? I can’t believe his team is calling Tucan’s bluff. Makes no sense at all. It’s not like he’s paying off a hooker here. You’re going to change this guy’s life and be an even bigger hero, yet here we are with a horrible story for Matt’s brand.
And now the golf media has turned on the Tour’s golden boy. Robert Lusetich, for one, has heard enough out of Team KOOOOOOOCH:
To put Kuchar's cheapness in context, Cam Percy won $23,750 for finishing t-5 on Sunday and paid his caddie $2900. #Kuchar won $1.296 million and gave El Tucan $5,000. https://t.co/8wMANu71Wa
— Robert Lusetich (@RobertLusetich) February 12, 2019
Cheap is cheap. Kuchar plowed through agents until he found a home with Steinberg. No coincidence there. El Tucan's asking for 5% which most Tour pros would pay readily. As you say, wouldn't change Kuchar's life in any way and would be a game changer for El Tucan https://t.co/j3MFhSgSfT
— Robert Lusetich (@RobertLusetich) February 12, 2019
The general guide for Tour caddies would be 5% of earnings when finishing outside the top 10, around 7% if in spots 2-10 and 10% for a win. A Tour caddie would have made about $130,000 on Kuchar's bag. Tucan obviously doesn't tour, so there's not a pay off on his expenses.
— Ryan Ballengee (@RyanBallengee) February 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/FairwayFairholm/status/1095326598935601153
One predictable takeaway from the Matt Kuchar-caddie pay dispute: Mark Steinberg’s ability to defuse thorny public relations issues remains abysmal.
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) February 12, 2019
Update: A BC follower shares his own Matt Kuchar caddie story where Legal Hooks was just 16 & KOOOOOCH wasn’t such a nice guy:
https://twitter.com/LegalHooks/status/1095327381613613056
https://twitter.com/LegalHooks/status/1095327383194882048
https://twitter.com/LegalHooks/status/1095327384507699201
https://twitter.com/LegalHooks/status/1095327385791143936
