HONOLULU – Following a third-round 66 that left him alone atop the leaderboard Saturday at the Sony Open, Matt Kuchar was asked about a series of tweets in recent days that suggested he paid his local caddie just $3,000 after winning the Mayakoba Golf Classic in November.
Kuchar was quick to deny the rumor.
“That’s not a story,” Kuchar said. “It’s wasn’t 10 percent. It wasn’t $3,000. It’s not a story.”
Former PGA Tour player Tom Gillis tweeted on Friday, “If Kuchar wins this weekend (at the Sony Open) let's hope he pays his man more than ($3,000) like the last win. ($45 million) in (career) earnings. Could've changed the man’s life.”
The tweet quickly circulated. Several Tour pros (mostly former) chimed in on the rumor while Gillis continued to discuss the matter on Twitter.
Kuchar won $1.296 million for his victory in Mexico. Normally, caddies receive 10 percent of a player’s winnings. Kuchar’s normal caddie, John Wood, couldn’t work the week of Mayakoba, so Kuchar hired a local looper, David Giral Ortiz.