Matt Kuchar Repents; Will Send 45k To “El Tucan”

Matt Kuchar has repented.

Kooch  has seen the error of his ways — namely he stirred up your basic social firestorm by coming out and saying he had no problem stiffing his caddie at the Mayakoba Classic and that a whopping $5,000 was adequate pay although Kooch pocketed nearly $1.3 million for his win late last year down in Mexico.

Kuchar was even so bold as to say he was good with it and wasn’t losing any sleep at night.

It became a classic “Caddie-Gate” situation — elite American sports millionaire stiffs poor, hard-working resort caddie in Mexico.

On Friday, after his first round 68 at the Genesis Open, Kuchar admitted the error of his ways.

He put out this statement:

“This week, I made comments that were out of touch and insensitive, making a bad situation worse. They made it seem like I was marginalizing David Ortiz and his financial situation, which was not my intention.  I  read them again and cringed. That is not who I am and not what I want to represent. My entire Tour career, I have tried to show respect and positivity. In this situation, I have not lived up to those values or to the expectations I’ve set for myself.”

Kuchar also apologized to fans for “not representing the values instilled in this incredible sport” and regretted allowing the situation regarding his payment to Ortiz to “escalate.”

“I let myself, my family, my partners and those close to me down, but I also let David down,” Kuchar said. “I plan to call David tonight, something that is long overdue, 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.”

So all’s well that ends well.  Kooch has apparently sent the extra 45-large down Mexico way to Ortiz.

It’s something that should never have happened and in the end, Kuchar realized it and said:

“I try to live my life in pretty simple terms. You treat people the way you want to be treated and then you put the shoe on the other foot. I missed the boat with this one. I did not put the shoe on the other foot. I did not do a good job there.”.

At the end of the day this basically took on the face of a massive social issue and exploded in social media.

Kuchar made the mistake of trying to say it wasn’t a story.

It became a huge story and at least it has now come to a close thanks to Kuchar finally stepping up and doing the right thing.

No doubt there may have been some pressure from his sponsors, even his manager — Marc Steinberg — wanted this thing to go away.

And in the end, perhaps, just maybe, Mrs. Kuch smacked her hubby upside the head with a tennis racket and told him to send the money.