Rory McIlroy reminds Matt Kuchar about stiffing caddie: 'We all know what money means to him'
Matt Kuchar has taken a lot of heat since a dispute over payment to a fill-in caddie during a win at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico last November.
Rory McIlroy jumped at the opportunity to remind Kuchar of the uncomfortable situation as the two took part of the Wyndham Rewards ceremony Tuesday.
What’s the caddie drama?
Kuchar paid his caddie David Giral Ortiz $5,000 out of his $1.3 million winner’s share in November, well below the standard that sees winners pay caddies between five and 10 percent of their checks.
After Ortiz went public with the payment to Golf.com, Kuchar defended the sum, arguing that the two had a handshake agreement on the amount prior to the tournament.
“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,” Kuchar said. “And it’s just too bad that it’s turned into a story, because it doesn’t need to be. We had a great week.”
Kuchar eventually relented to intense public and professional pressure to pay up, announcing in February that he paid the total of $50,000 that Ortiz had requested, complete with an apology.
“I let myself, my family, my partners and those close to me down, but I also let David down,” Kuchar said in a statement. “I plan to call David [Friday night] when I’m off the course to apologize for the situation he has been put in, and I have made sure he has received the full total that he has requested.”
McIlroy twists the knife
McIlroy took full advantage of the opportunity of he and Kuchar being awarded large sums of money at Tuesday’s ceremony to get in a burn on his colleague.
McIlroy earned a $1.5 million award bonus for finishing second in the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 race behind Brooks Koepka, who earned $2 million.
‘That’s $300,000 — over two points’
Kuchar finished a close third behind McIlroy for $1.2 million and joked about his rival costing him $300,000 for edging him in the standings.
“I’m still mad,” Kuchar said with a smile on his face. “Rory was just telling me he passed me by two points. Two points — that’s $300,000, over two points.”
McIlroy was quick on the uptake.
“We all know what money means to him,” McIlroy said to to a round of laughter from the crowd and his fellow golfers.
Kuchar laughed along.
After learning a tough lesson in public relations, he apparently hasn’t yet learned how not to set himself up for easy zingers.
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