Matt York/Associated Press

Matt Kuchar's Replacement Caddie, David Giral Ortiz, Says He's Owed $45,000

Scott Polacek

Caddie David Giral Ortiz, who helped Matt Kuchar win the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November, believes the golfer still owes him $45,000 in prize money. 

According to Michael Bamberger of Golf.com, Ortiz said he was paid $5,000 after he filled in for regular caddie John Wood during Kuchar's win. Ortiz also revealed he wouldn't work for Kuchar again and turned down an additional $15,000 because he didn't think it was an acceptable payment.

The fill-in caddie believes $50,000 would have been the right amount.

"A $3,000 weekly payment for a fill-in local caddie would widely be considered generous pay by Tour standards," Bamberger explained. "The sticking point is the size of the bonus. A Tour caddie typically receives five percent of a player's winnings, a higher percentage for a top-10 finish and 10 percent for a win. These arrangements are usually handshake deals."

Kuchar's first-place check for the tournament was worth nearly $1.3 million.

For his part, Kuchar told Will Gray of Golf Channel he believed the $5,000 payment was "fair and good" and "more than what we agreed upon." He clarified he believed the two had an arrangement in place prior to the start of the tournament.

"So I certainly don't lose sleep over this," he said. "This is something that I'm quite happy with, and I was really happy for him to have a great week and make a good sum of money. Making $5,000 is a great week."

The golfer's agent, Mark Steinberg, said in an email to Bamberger, "The reports [sic] on what Matt's caddie was offered are wildly inaccurate. However, it is inappropriate to discuss those amounts publicly."

   

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