By Brian Wacker
In Matt Kuchar’s nearly two decades on the PGA Tour he has racked up nine victories and nearly $50 million in career earnings—all while steering clear of controversy.

Until this year.

It started in January when it was revealed that Kuchar lowballed his local caddie, David (El Tucan) Ortiz, with only $5,000 after winning $1.29 million at the Mayakoba Golf Classic last fall.

(Kuchar defended himself by saying it “wasn’t a story” and that “making $5,000 is a great week,” before eventually relenting, apologizing and making El Tucan whole with an additional $45,000.)

Then came the quarterfinals of the WGC-Dell Match Play, where his opponent Sergio Garcia raked a tap-in before Kuchar had conceded it. Garcia’s fault, yes, but Kuchar only muddied things by saying at the time, “‘Sergio, I didn’t say anything. I’m not sure how this works out. I didn’t want that to be an issue,’” then tracking down an official.

(Garcia lost the hole, and incredibly suggested Kuchar could make things even by conceding a hole, to which Kuchar declined. Eventually, the two kissed and made up in an awkward video in which they said they were “all good” with each other.)

It didn’t end there, with Kuchar next embroiled in an odd rules snafu at the Memorial, where he tried to get a free drop from a pitch mark that he claimed had come from his tee shot, despite a video replay and laws of physics proving otherwise.

(Two rules officials and a TV replay were needed to sort it out but even then Kuchar tried to seek a third opinion.)

J.D. Cuban

Despite all of that, Kuchar managed to add a second win to his season—at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where the caddie controversy first reared its head mid-tournament—and had a chance for a third after being tied for the lead through 54 holes at last week’s RBC Canadian Open. He also has six other top-10 finishes, and leads the FedEx Cup standings.

“It’s definitely been a tougher year than most,” Kuchar conceded Tuesday at the U.S. Open. “I’ve never been in any sort of controversy before.”

Known for the bulk of his career for his “aw-shucks” demeanor and harmless pranks, Kuchar was suddenly coming across—particularly to the social media mob—as everything from a cheapskate, to classless, to tone deaf.

Judging by his play, however, perhaps another word should come to mind: Ruthless. Or at the very least skilled enough to endure in the face of obstacles that would easily derail plenty of other players’ seasons.

“I don’t know if it’s compartmentalizing or I don’t know if it’s just I believe in what I’m doing with my golf game,” Kuchar said. “I’m doing a lot of things to keep me playing well.

“And it probably helps I don’t do social media. It helps I don’t look at any of these things. But I think a lot of it is what I’m doing with my game has been really good.”

Among those things is improved driving—Kuchar ranks 54th in strokes gained/off-the-tee this year, compared to 150th last season—and sharpening the other parts of his game that were already good; specifically his iron play, short game and putting. All of which should come in handy at Pebble Beach, where he tied for sixth the last time the U.S. Open was played here.

Which brings us to the other thing Kuchar has steered clear of in his career: Win a major.

A dozen times, he has finished in the top 10, which included a runner-up at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale two years ago. There have been other opportunities, too.

At age 40, however, those chances figure to be dwindling. But if Kuchar can not just persist but thrive the way he has in a year filled with controversies and personal travails, who knows.

“I’d rather not have a countdown clock on the amount of chances I have left,” Kuchar said. “I feel good about the state of my game and the state of my health. You need all those working together to pull off a major championship.”

Thick skin helps, too.

The post U.S. Open 2019: Matt Kuchar’s wild, controversial season has also featured some of his best golf appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — The PGA Tour has been more like the Apology Tour this week at the Genesis Open, at least in between an impressive first couple of rounds by co-leaders Justin Thomas and Adam Scott at a wet and wild Riviera Country Club.

First, it was Sergio Garcia, offering up a mea culpa for his temper tantrums that led to disqualification two weeks ago in Saudi Arabia, followed by a string of social media posts that showed him taking selfies with fans, handing out goodies to kids and making nice with the troops. Then the next best thing that could have happened to him did: Matt Kuchar.

After playing to a crowd that included more than a few hecklers over having paid his fill-in caddie a paltry sum ($5,000) en route to winning ($1.29 million) in Mexico last fall, not to mention a media and public relations firestorm that was quickly engulfing him, Kuchar issued a statement apologising for the matter and said he’d paid the caddie, David Ortiz, the full amount ($50,000) that he’d requested.

Finishing his second round on Saturday morning, he addressed the issue again, this time fielding questions from reporters and explaining why he had a change of heart after only a few days earlier having maintained the original arrangement was a fair one and that he wasn’t losing any sleep over the situation.

“I was stubborn, hard-headed,” Kuchar said. “In my mind I had it as a deal is a deal, but after I won the tournament, a deal wasn’t a deal. Not a good deal. Any transaction, all parties should come out feeling like they’ve won, and certainly, in David’s case he did not feel like he won in that situation and I needed to make that right. It’s as simple as that.”

Kuchar added that he called Ortiz in Mexico on Friday night but that the call went to voicemail and he left a message. The two still haven’t been able to speak.

Next week, Kuchar is scheduled to play at the WGC-Mexico Championship.

“I don’t know if ‘soul searching’ is the right term,” Kuchar said when asked what the last few days have been like. “I think I live my life and try to live my life in pretty simple terms. I find things basic. You treat people the way you want to be treated. You know, that one, and then you put the shoe on the other foot. I think those are like two simple rules that I think I’ve always followed, I think everybody should follow.

“I missed the boat with this one.”

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