Kuchar defends his £3,900 pay to caddie after victory

Matt Kuchar has defended his decision to pay a temporary caddie $5,000 (£3,900) following his victory in the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Kuchar ended a fouryear winless drought in November with local caddie David “El Tucan” Ortiz on the bag in place of his regular caddie John Wood.

The world number 22 collected a winner’s cheque for $1.3 million (£1m), of which caddies can usually expect to receive up to 10% depending on their arrangement with the player.

However, Kuchar has confirmed that he paid Ortiz $5,000 and that he subsequently offered an additional $15,000, which Ortiz refused, after the story became public.

“It’s kind of too bad that it’s turned into a story. I really didn’t think it was a story because we had an arrangement when I started,” Kuchar told GolfChannel.com.

“I’ve done enough tournaments and had enough weekly caddies and I’m very clear about what the payment will be.

“And we had an arrangement Tuesday that David was okay with, and I thought Sunday he was very much okay with it.

“I kind of feel like unfortunately some other people have got it in his head that he’s deserving something different than what we agreed upon.

“And it’s just too bad that it’s turned into a story, because it doesn’t need to be.”

According to Kuchar, he and Ortiz originally agreed to a bonus structure which would have allowed Ortiz to make up to $4,000 for the week.

“I ended up paying him $5,000 and I thought that was more than what we agreed upon,” added Kuchar, who has been criticised on social media for his decision.

“I think if he had the chance to do it over again, same exact deal, that he’d say ‘yes’ again.”