Should Ryder Cup Players Be Paid To Play

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

The controversy surrounding the financial compensation of the US Ryder Cup team has reached a boiling point. After confirmations that each player will receive $500,000 for representing their country, many have questioned the need for an additional $200,000 to go straight into the players' pockets.  The question remains, is being a part of this prestigious event not enough?

I AM actually speechless. No, really, I am…

It has now been officially confirmed that all 12 members of the US Ryder Cup team will receive $500,000 for the privilege of representing their county in New York next  year.

They will each get $300,000 to donate to a charity of their own choosing - and nobody has any problem with that. But they will get a further $200,000 each to stick in their back pockets - and for that there can be no possible justification whatsoever. I have said this before and I repeat it here - these men are multi-millionaires and they need a further $200,000 like they need a hole in the head.

Amid all this money-grabbing, you may have missed the announcement that Catriona Matthew, a former Women’s Open champion and Solheim Cup captain, has agreed to captain the GB&I Curtis Cup team for a second time. This is the very essence of amateur golf and you can be absolutely certain that Matthew will have asked for little more than out-of-pocket expenses to do the job and give the benefit of her vast experience to the brightest young women golfers our country has to offer.

Matthew led the team to a thrilling 10.5-9.5 win over the US at Sunningdale in September - GB&I’s first Curtis Cup success since 2016.

And this is how she summed up being asked to do the job again: “The 2024 victory is right up there with anything I have achieved, including winning the Solheim Cup as a player and captain. It’s always harder to win away from him and I am excited for the opportunity. It is my job to again building a high-performing and motivated team who will aim to retain the trophy."

Meanwhile back at the funny factory, being paid to play in the Ryder Cup will also surely have another side-effect that could actually benefit Luke Donald’s European team - the pressure on the Americans will rise. And there is already more than enough pressure involved in competing in what is now arguably the biggest team event in al of sport.

Donald’s team will also claim the moral high ground because they are not receiving a cent for representing Europe. In fact, when all this first raised its ugly head, Rory McIlroy said that he would pay to play in the Ryder Cup.

He said: “I don’t think any of the 24 players either team needs the money.” Amen to that!

And others such as Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre have echoed his sentiments.

Paul McGinley, who captained Europe to a magnificent success at Gleneagles in 2014 and holed the winning putt in 2002, knows all about how much the Ryder Cup means to Europeans and he has said it is all wrong for the Americans to be paid.

Speaking to SportsBoom, Colin Montgomerie, who was never beaten in Ryder Cup singles, said: “What we're talking about is the evil word, money. And it can destroy a lot of things. And I think that golf has been has been part of that, and we are now talking about one team getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup.

“My God, I mean, I would have paid to play in it, to have the honour to play in the Ryder Cup, never mind wanting money to do so. There's something a little bit awry with players being paid to play. It leaves a sour taste. You can’t have a competition where one team’s being paid and the other isn’t.

“It could have been used for grass-roots golf. It could be used for ladies’ golf, junior golf, golf in schools. That's what I was hoping that money would go to as opposed to make the wealthy wealthier.

The Ryder Cup generates huge amounts of revenue. Ticket sales alone are expected to hit around $120m in 2025. And that is without taking into account the money raised by the food and drink concessions at Bethpage Black, of which the PGA of America will receive a tasty cut. Oh yes, and then there is the share of TV rights. On and on it goes.

But it is surely only right and proper that every dollar of profit raised from this titanic event should be poured back into the grass roots of the sport.

You will recall that Patrick Cantlay was at the centre of controversy in 2023 when he refused to wear the US team’s cap. Although he denied it, it was widely reported that his refusal was a protest.

So the PGA of America, which organises the event when it is staged on American soil, have given in. They say that no player asked to be compensated and while that may be the case it is not strictly true. Going all the way back to 1999, David Duval claimed that he should be financially compensated for competing in the Ryder Cup.

And Cantlay is just the latest to take a stance.

In a statement, the PGA of America said: “The players and captains, past and present, are responsible for the Ryder Cup becoming the most special competition in golf and one of the most in-demand events on the international sports scene.”

And being part of such a huge and significant event should surely be enough?!?

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