- The American team threatens one of the great qualities of the Ryder Cup
- It’s powerful that the Cup can still attract top players without paying them
Hats off to the greediest athletes in the world: those American golfers know how to threaten a good thing.
For the better part of a century, and especially in the last few years, the Ryder Cup has managed to position itself above the money-grabbing that has dominated the sport’s professional reach. Both sides play for free and that is an important part of the charm.
But after decades of American stars testing that fence, led by Tiger Woods and David Duval in earlier versions of the debate, and through Patrick Cantlay’s hatless protests in Rome last year, Keegan Bradley’s team will be in the match of 2025 to be paid. over £300,000 per man.
It still needs to be ratified and sources have stressed there are hurdles to clear first, not least the PGA of America, which oversees the US operation and currently has no permanent CEO to approve the proposal. When contacted by Mail Sport on Wednesday evening, they declined to comment.
For now, there are no signs that their European counterparts would like to follow suit. For example, Rory McIlroy has previously praised the ‘purity’ of the match due to the lack of any monetary incentive, and his captain, Luke Donald, has also been emphatic in his belief that there should be no strings attached.
The US team will be paid more than £300,000 to play in the Ryder Cup next year (Photo: Patrick Cantlay refused to wear a hat in protest over not being paid in 2023)
Sure, they might get some extra money in the bank, but the Ryder Cup loses a unique quality: being able to attract players without offering cash
But it will be fascinating to see whether the American golfers who take a share of the profits will violate existing positions and norms.
There has long been a perception that a key reason why Europe can perform above the sum of its parts in the biennial competition, as was the case as underdogs in Rome last year, is because it is more important to them. The ghost of Seve Ballesteros, discussed every two years in overly syrupy tones, was an embodiment of that point.
By sporadically whining about whether money should be played, the US has been rightly or wrongly portrayed in those conversations as slightly less interested. Needs more of a push.
There’s certainly a valid argument for splitting the Cup’s huge profits among the stars of the show: they’re the performers. The fact that tickets for the next edition of Bethpage Black are being sold for outrageous amounts starting at $750 would also fuel the view that if everyone else is cashing in interest, why not share it?
Under the current system used by the U.S. team, the PGA of America distributes $200,000 to each of the 12 players, with half allocated to charities of the player’s choice and the other half going to golf programs. Woods has previously suggested he would hand over his share of the pie to the charity, but advocated the view that these should be paid directly and the choice should be up to the individual.
There is a perception that Team Europe cares more because they perform above the sum of their parts, while the American stars complain about the lack of financial incentives
That will be positioned as fair by the restless golfers. There will be many who cherish this view. But it’s worth contextualizing a bit here, because by far the lowest-earning player on the US team in 2023, based on last season’s PGA Tour prize money, still had £2.7 million in his pocket. That was Justin Thomas.
By adding an extra $300,000 to a golfer’s bank account, the competition would lose one of the Cup’s greatest and most unique qualities: its ability to bring together the best players in the world for something other than money.
At a time when so much golf on both sides of the LIV queue has sold out, it’s a huge shame that little Greed remains undefeated.