Matt Kuchar was forced to respond to allegations that he paid his stand-in caddie poorly after his drought-breaking victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November.
Tweets from a number of professional golfers went viral in golf circles, which left Kuchar open to questions on what should’ve been a day to enjoy as he continued to lead the Sony Open.
If Kuchar wins this weekend let’s hope he pays his man more than 3k like the last win. 45 mil in earnings. Could’ve changed the mans life. ?
— Tom Gillis (@tcgillis) January 12, 2019
It’s not out of character if true
— cameron percy (@cameronpercy1) January 12, 2019
Kuchar’s regular caddie John Wood was unable to fulfil his commitments in Mexico, leaving David Giral Ortiz or ‘El Tucan’ as as his emergency replacement.
El Tucan picked up the bag after Kuchar was pointed in his direction by the tournament’s director.
Kuchar promptly won – and earned himself $1.296-million in the process – which left his caddie in line for a 10% pay day as is custom.
At the time the American star was full of praise for his ‘lucky charm’.
‘He was definitely my lucky charm. He brought me good luck and certainly some extra crowd support and did a great job as well. He did just what I was hoping for and looking for,’ said Kuchar.
Now, with another tournament on the line, the truth of El Tucan’s payment remains unclear.
‘That’s not a story,’ Kuchar said responding to the allegations.
‘It wasn’t 10 percent. It wasn’t $3,000. It’s not a story.’
