Kuchar Pays Caddie $5k, Is Shamed, Pays $50k

[Phil McGleno]

Matt Kuchar denies charge he paid local caddie just $3K during win

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Social media was abuzz Saturday evening on the subject of Matt Kuchar, but the man himself has noted there is nothing to see here. Tom Gillis, a former PGA Tour player and current PGA Tour Champion…

I am surprised that nobody has talked about this yet.

[dennyjones]

What nobody is talking about is whether there was an agreement before the tournament when he picked up the local caddie.    That agreement, if one existed, would trump any speculation of underpayment.   I've never met any responsible person that went to work and didn't know what they were being paid.   

Being paid twice your regular pay is generous and I'm sure the guy was excited to receive the gift.   Would we even have this conversation if Kuch had come in second?   Probably not.  

While a bigger contribution to the local caddie may have been nice and helped change his life, I don't feel he was shorted in any sense.  

[JxQx]

People are probably not talking about it because it's all hearsay and there is a bunch of info missing. Did the caddy ask for/agree to a flat rate of $3k or did they have some other agreement and Kuchar under paid him? If it's the first it's a non issue, if it's the latter then there is a problem.. From the info here it sounds like they had an agreement, then Kuchar won, now the caddy wants more. I could be wrong though.

[klineka]

Unless someone interviews the caddie or posts other proof like a screenshot of the money leaving/entering a bank account, it's unlikely that we will know for sure exactly how much Kuchar paid the caddie.

Kuchar said he didnt pay 10% and he also said he didn't pay $3000.

Right now this is pretty much a he said she said thing until more proof comes out (if it ever does)

[saevel25]

Maybe it saved his life. There are many stories of people winning the lottery and having their lives ruined by it.

[chspeed]

Has anyone talked to the caddie yet? Assuming it's true (a big assumption), I do think it's a story.

13 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

What nobody is talking about is whether there was an agreement before the tournament when he picked up the local caddie.    That agreement, if one existed, would trump any speculation of underpayment.   I've never met any responsible person that went to work and didn't know what they were being paid.    

He may have been so excited at the opportunity, and just assumed the Kuchar will pay him fairly. I've seen it happen in other fields.

13 minutes ago, dennyjones said:

Being paid twice your regular pay is generous and I'm sure the guy was excited to receive the gift.   Would we even have this conversation if Kuch had come in second?   Probably not.   

I agree with this. But he did win, and if the amount is really that low (or not much more), I think that Kuchar should have been much more generous.

Question: Would he have paid differently if it was in the US?

Edited January 14, 2019 by chspeed

[DeadMan]

I really don't believe that Kuchar paid his caddy $3k after winning over a million dollars. My best guess is that was the flat fee that they agreed to before the tournament, and the Kuchar paid him a bonus for winning. It's also not the best idea in Mexico to make a big deal of suddenly having a ton of money.

The other possibility that Kuchar didn't pay the caddy directly and instead did something like a trust for the caddy's kids. It could be completely true that Kuchar only paid his caddy $3k, but then took care of the caddy's family in some other way.

[klineka]

3 minutes ago, chspeed said:

Has anyone talked to the caddie yet? 

To my knowledge, no.

3 minutes ago, chspeed said:

Assuming it's true (a big assumption), I do think it's a story.

That's a huge assumption and unfair to Kuchar don't you think? Especially since Kuchar stated he didnt pay him $3000

[chspeed]

1 minute ago, klineka said:

That's a huge assumption and unfair to Kuchar don't you think? Especially since Kuchar stated he didnt pay him $3000

Yes it is, as I stated, big assumption. Unfair? Maybe if I was a journalist. I'm just talking hypotheticals on a golf forum. I don't think he'll be upset 😉

[klineka]

1 minute ago, chspeed said:

Yes it is, as I stated, big assumption. Unfair? Maybe if I was a journalist. I'm just talking hypotheticals on a golf forum. I don't think he'll be upset 😉

So true, as long as he isn't a member on here 

I do hope someone interviews the caddie so there can be a bit more facts/evidence to back up either Tom Gillis or Kuchar.

[iacas]

I don't believe that the sum total of the payments to the caddie were $3k.

I also don't think that Kuchar having made $45M in his career is relevant. A Snickers bar costs $1.79 to a billionaire and a poor person alike.

[JetFan1983]

It's probably not the best thing to publicize that the caddie got something like 80K in cash, which would be life changing money if you're dirt poor in Mexico. The false 3K number could've been just to protect the caddie. 

[ChetlovesMer]

26 minutes ago, iacas said:

I don't believe that the sum total of the payments to the caddie were $3k.

I also don't think that Kuchar having made $45M in his career is relevant. A Snickers bar costs $1.79 to a billionaire and a poor person alike.

I agree with you. How much anyone made in his career has no relevance to this story. The line "Could have changed the man's life" is also irrelevant. Should he pay the person at McDonald's 100 grand for a Big Mac because it could have "changed the man's life"?

I find this whole story kind of weird. It seems like nobody (aside from the caddie and Matt Kuchar) really know how much the guy was paid. Yet, there are tons of people passing judgement. 

[p1n9183]

I´m with the ones that think that he pays him a bonus outside the 3k but keep it quiet to protect the caddie and his family.

[Yukari]

2 hours ago, dennyjones said:

What nobody is talking about is whether there was an agreement before the tournament when he picked up the local caddie.    That agreement, if one existed, would trump any speculation of underpayment.   I've never met any responsible person that went to work and didn't know what they were being paid.   

Being paid twice your regular pay is generous and I'm sure the guy was excited to receive the gift.   Would we even have this conversation if Kuch had come in second?   Probably not.  

While a bigger contribution to the local caddie may have been nice and helped change his life, I don't feel he was shorted in any sense.  

This.  Without knowing that, there is no sense in speculating.

[rehmwa]

4 hours ago, JxQx said:

 now the caddy wants more. I could be wrong though.

I"ve seen nothing where the caddie made any comment.

 

to the topic - this is such a non-story.  This is a contract between 2 people.  What fair is what they agreed to.  nothing more, nothing less.  Anything extra is a gift.  (The Champ Tour player that started this all is petty and childish and doesn't understand that 2 grownups can decide how to arrange their business.  No one has this automatic claim on another's property just because they think they do.  Tom Gillis comes across terribly poorly here.)

[iacas]

I have two problems with this tweet:

1. Tom insisted multiple times it was $3k. That he had the number correct. Now he's saying it's $5k.
2. Tom can't do math. Matt won $1,296,000 for his efforts. $5,000 of that is 0.386%. Not 0.0023%. 0.0023% would be $29.81.

Two opinions I still hold:

1. If they negotiated a price and the guy paid it or paid it plus any extra, then so be it.
2. I don't have any reason to believe Tom Gillis any more now than I did before, and maybe even less as he just contradicted himself.

[rehmwa]

Gillis is coming across as a dickhead with some kind of personal grudge/ax to grind.

Edited January 17, 2019 by rehmwa