A long-rumored change seems to be finally happening.
As Golfweek reported last month, players on the United States Ryder Cup team are set to be paid for next year’s biennial bash at Bethpage Black in New York. The Telegraph in London reported Wednesday the Americans will be paid roughly $400,000 per player, and that figure is likely to be ratified.
Sources told Golfweek that similar to this year’s Presidents Cup, the Ryder Cup payments would become a stipend rather than a direct payment to a charity of the player’s choice. At Marco Simone for the 2023 Ryder Cup, U.S. players received $200,000 to donate to charities of their choice.
The Telegraph reports there are no plans for European players to be paid.
As Golfweek previously reported, the play-for-pay debate heated up at last year’s Ryder Cup when it was reported Patrick Cantlay refused to wear a Team USA hat in protest. Cantlay has repeatedly stated this had nothing to do with him playing hatless and he is proud to represent his country and pour all of his energy into winning points for his team.
Schauffele’s father, Stefan, was the most outspoken in addressing these growing concerns that while it is a romantic notion these team competitions have no purse and the players are playing for country and pride, there’s a competing sense of the players being exploited as the events have become enormous cash cows for the non-profit associations.
“If they make profit off this and finance their organization of almost 29,000 [PGA of America] members for four years with the proceeds earned on the backs of these guys here, well, then they should share or they shouldn’t be allowed to do that,” Stefan told reporters in Rome.
The Ryder Cup charitable contributions began 25 years ago after a player protest became public at the 1999 British Open. After much debate about how the Ryder Cup profits were disbursed, players received $100,000. Several prominent American players, including Mark O’Meara and Payne Stewart, indicated they had concerns about what was happening to the millions of dollars generated by the event. O’Meara argued players should be paid more than what was a $5,000 travel stipend at the time for the event.
In an Aug. 11, 1999, story in The Washington Post, Tiger Woods said, “I would like to see us receive whatever the amount is, whether it’s $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 and I think we should be able to keep the money and do whatever we see fit. I personally would donate all of it to charity. With all the money that’s being made, we should have a say in where it goes.”
Woods, who’s on the Tour’s board of directors and was captain of the 2019 Presidents Cup team, is finally getting what he always wanted.
Keegan Bradley was asked about payments at the 2024 Presidents Cup, responding: “Whether it was for a lot of money or no money, we would show up.”
One European Ryder Cup player told The Telegraph:
They can do whatever they want, but we don’t want payments in our bank accounts, as it’ll be the thin end of the wedge and is not what the Ryder Cup is about.
Let’s face it, a lot of the American players have been angling towards this for years, if not decades.
If it does go ahead, then it will be interesting to see how the fans react at Bethpage, although they’ll probably announce it as just an extension of what already happens.
The PGA of America declined to comment to The Telegraph.
