Kuchar: ‘I was stubborn’

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – Matt Kuchar faced the media Saturday morning, but none of the questions he fielded were about his rain-delayed second round in the Genesis Open (it was 1over-par 72, if you’re curious).

Kuchar has been at the center of a social media storm for five weeks since it emerged that after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico in November he paid his caddie, a resort bagman named David Ortiz, only $5,000 after winning $1.296 million.

In a statement Friday night, Kuchar said he would be paying Ortiz what he asked for ($50,000) and making a donation to the tournament for its charitable work. Asked to confirm that he was giving the caddie an additional $45,000, Kuchar was hesitant to offer details. “I don’t know the best way to answer that,” he said.

But he did acknowledge he mishandled the situation. “Listen, I was stubborn, hard headed,” he said Saturday. “In my mind I had it as ‘a deal is a deal,’ but after I won the tournament a deal wasn’t a deal. Not a good deal. Any transaction, all parties should come out feeling like they’ve won, and certainly in David’s case he did not feel like he won in that situation and I needed to make that right. It’s as simple as that.”

Kuchar said he left a voicemail message for Ortiz on Friday night.

“I just missed the boat with this one,” Kuchar added Saturday. “I did not put the shoe on the other foot. I did not do a good job there, and I think in any situation if you can just understand where somebody else is coming from, it makes the world a whole lot better of a place. I missed that one.”

The 40-year-old also said, “I’ve been out here 20 years. I think people know who I am. I always try to do my best for the fans. Certainly this week had a few guys hollering out, but for the most part I think people judge me on the longer term and know who I really am.”