Matt Kuchar apologizes, pledges $50,000 to Mayakoba caddie

Matt Kuchar apologized Friday for what he said were insensitive comments about the caddie he used at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico last fall and said he would pay the $50,000 the caddie requested.

He also said he would make a donation to the tournament to be distributed to charities in the Cancun area.

“Golf is a game where we call penalties on ourselves,” Kuchar said in a statement released by the PGA Tour. “I should have done that long ago and not let this situation escalate.”

Kuchar’s regular caddie couldn’t make the trip to Mexico in November, so he used David Ortiz from El Camaleon Golf Club. Kuchar won for the first time in more than four years and earned $1,296,000.

Ortiz received $5,000.