$45,000: Matt Kuchar and El Tucan Reach Agreement

One of the most followed stories this year is the one between Matt Kuchar and his fill-in caddie, known as El Tucan, who helped lead Kuchar to a win at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico last fall. The story then spun out of control but has now finally reached a conclusion.

If you don’t remember exactly what happened, let me refresh your memories. Kuchar’s regular caddie wasn’t able to attend the event so local legend David “El Tucan” Ortiz filled in at the event. Kuchar then won the event but the controversy came when it was reported that Kuchar only paid Ortiz $5000 for his efforts, far less than the 10% of the winnings that caddies typically earn.

The story then spiraled out of control when Ortiz did interviews claiming that he had agreed to work with Kuchar expecting a higher payout. He didn’t expect to earn the full 10% but was under the impression he would earn a fair wage, not the measly $5000 that he received. Kuchar’s side then took to the offensive, claiming that they paid Ortiz according to a prearranged agreement.

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With the story becoming bigger by the week, Kuchar took the opportunity to meet with Ortiz this week while he was in the area at the WGC-Mexico. After a lengthy conversation between the two, Kuchar apparently saw the fault in his logic and wired Ortiz $45,000 to make amends for his actions. That’s more than Ortiz ever expected to get so he is happy about how the whole situation turned out.

Speaking through an interpreter, Ortiz explained how the whole meeting went down. “Matt said, ‘Hey, David, how are you?’” Ortiz said. “I apologized for the situation created. I told him it was never my intention to embarrass him, but I felt eventually I had to tell the truth. Matt also offered an apology. He said it was all a misunderstanding. He asked me how my family was. He showed me a picture of his family and a video of a hole-in-one made by one of his sons.”

It’s great to see that both men were able to resolve this situation in a mature manner and not allow it to swallow up their lives. Hopefully, a situation like this never manifests again and we wish both men the best of luck in their work for the rest of the golfing season.

Cover Image Via Instagram