MONTREAL – Money makes the world go round. Over the past few years, we’ve seen all too well how greed is harming golf. It’s infiltrated the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup too, team events where there is no purse.
Golfweek has learned that the 24 players and nine captains who participated in the Presidents Cup last month received a “stipend” of $250,000 that they can do with as they please. That is a departure from previous decades when the competitors were not paid for their participation, but each competitor allocated an equal portion of the funds generated to charities of his choice.
“As part of the Tour’s overall total compensation program, distributions for the Presidents Cup have been adjusted to reflect the changing landscape of charitable giving, allowing players and captains the flexibility to support their respective foundations or personal charitable priorities,” the Tour said in a statement to Golfweek.
According to the Tour, $56.4 million has been donated from event proceeds since the inception of the Presidents Cup in 1994, including a guarantee of at least $1 million to the host site (since 2022). That’s nothing to sneeze at but in past years, the PGA Tour proudly boasted of the charitable contributions made by the players. As recently as 2019, the event media guide listed the charity and donation amount given by each individual player dating to 1994 – including how Tiger Woods gave to the Tiger Woods Learning Center and later simply to the Tiger Woods Foundation, Mike Weir to the Notah Begay Foundation, Fred Couples to the Frank Sinatra Foundation, Ernie Els to Els for Autism, Webb Simpson and Bill Haas to Wake Forest Athletics and Justin Thomas, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed among players who gave to the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).
When I couldn’t find that information readily available this time, I inquired with the media relations staff thinking it would make a nice story – how about that Scottie Scheffler, what a swell guy he is. Turned out I stumbled on a bigger story in that Presidents Cup team members – including captains and assistant captains – no longer are mandated to make a charitable donation (although those spoken to by Golfweek claimed they still would do so).
Prior to 2022, each player, captain and captain’s assistant received $150,000 to give to a charity/charities of their choice. Starting in 2022, players and captains receive $250,000 of which they are able to use as they see…
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