Matt Kuchar won the Mayakoba Golf Classic this weekend without his typical right-hand-man, John Wood, on the bag.  Kuchar was a late entry into the event, and Wood had prior engagements that kept him from making the trip with Kuch to Mexico.  Even better?  Kuchar’s wife was helping out Zach Johnson on his bag as a last minute fill-in for the last four holes of round 1 as well, so she couldn’t help either.  The solution?  Use a local guy.  The tournament director hooked Kuch up with David Ortiz, aka “El Tucan,” a local caddy legend in Mexico.  Kuch ended up winning by a stroke with El Tucan on the bag, and the rest is history.

El Tucan works at the Mayakoba Camaleon Golf Course as the Caddy Director, and has carried bags in this event before.  Last year he carried for Alex Cejka, whom he guided to a top-10 finish.  After the win, Kuch gave praise to El Tucan for helping him navigate the course, although the two didn’t talk much.  Kuch claimed that help him clear his head, play more relaxed, and that Ortiz even brought him a little luck as his “lucky charm.”

These stories are always great (a la Sergio’s win with a local caddy at the Wyndham Championship in 2012), but now everyone is going to want to know how much El Tucan going to get paid.  Typically, a PGA Tour caddy makes 10% of winnings, but they also put in a ton of work each and every week, sometimes not making a dime.  Sergio stated after his win that his guy wasn’t going to make 10%, but would make a solid 5-figure pay day.  Wonder what El Tucan is going to get?  Kuch strikes me as a guy who would throw El Tucan more than would be considered generous.  Maybe Ortiz would get the whole 10%?

Either way, with a 7-figure pay day coming for Kuchar, I’m sure he’s going to take care of Ortiz, and El Tucan will be just fine.  I don’t know how much a Caddy Director makes at a resort in Mexico, but I imagine this is going to be a solid payday, and also an unforgettable experience for El Tucan.