NO MATT FLAP
Fans kind to Kuchar; Rory leads
On a day Rory McIlroy flirted with a hole-in-one and finished at 8-under 63, some eyes — and many ears — were on Matt Kuchar at the WGC-Mexico Championship on Thursday.
Would he be heckled, as he was at last week’s Genesis Open following the caddie controversy that made him a cause cel
ebre in golf circles? Turns out, the boobirds did not show in Mexico City — though Kuchar’s game surely did, as he fired a 5-under 66 for a share of third place, three shots behind McIlroy (63) and two behind second-place Dustin Johnson.
“It was nice. The fans were great,” a relieved Kuchar later told the Golf Channel.
Kuchar landed in controversy two weeks ago when it was revealed that, after winning November’s Mayakoba Classic near Cancun, he had paid substitute caddie David Giral Ortiz just $5,000, after earning a $1.3 million winner’s check. The $5,000 fee had been agreed on in a pretourney deal, but typically a caddie receives 10 percent of a winner’s share — and Kuchar caught widespread flack.
Eventually, Kuchar apologized and paid Ortiz $50,000. Thursday was his first appearance in Mexico since the Mayakoba flap became public.
“Last week was hard,’’ Kuchar told the Golf Channel. “It was actually great coming here, having so much support from the local crowd. I had so many guys in the practice rounds come up and say, congratulations on the win at Mayakoba, I hope you win again here in Mexico City. It was nice to have fans still supporting me.”
McIlroy, already off to a solid start on the back nine, he hit a 2iron on the 305-yard opening hole at Chapultepec Golf Club to within 6 feet of the pin, leading to an eagle.
Tiger Woods got a raucous introduction for his opening tee shot, a 5-wood that also landed on the wrong green. The ball bounced hard off a temporary green to the left and beyond the out-of-bounds stake into the bushes. He nearly did it again, and ultimately had to get upand-down from 60 feet away in a bunker to escape with double bogey. After a burst of birdies, he struggled the rest of the way and opened with a 71.
Justin Thomas, who lost in a playoff last year to Phil Mickelson, chipped in from 50 feet behind the green on No. 15 for eagle and was at 66 to tie Kuchar.
Jordan Spieth, with his father filling in because caddie Michael Greller’s father died, opened with a 75.
Woods said he is skipping the Honda Classic next week as he tries to figure out a busy Florida schedule leading to the Masters.