The topic of pay at the Ryder Cup has been woven into the fabric of the biennial team competition for several decades now, with reports of players in years gone by apparently keen to see their contribution to one of the world’s most famous sporting events financially rewarded.
Up until the mid-1990s, no one involved in the Ryder Cup saw a penny directly passed on. Although, that changed in 1999 – prior to Brookline – when it was confirmed that a $200,000 charitable donation, half of which went to a college golf program, would be made on behalf of each American representative.
Still, noises surrounding pay continued to pop up with increasing regularity, and the subject was then thrust firmly into the limelight once again during the 2023 Ryder Cup when Patrick Cantlay’s lack of hat made him – whether he liked it or not – the leading figure among the media in the call for players to be paid.
Fast forward over a year later and those calls were eventually answered with an emphatic ‘yes’ by the PGA of America, although the stance on the opposite side of the pond remained firmly at the opposite end of the scale.
Regardless, in December 2024, the PGA of America announced a package of half a million dollars would be given to each of the 12 golfers and captain, Keegan Bradley at Bethpage Black.
(L to R) Derek Sprague, Kerry Haigh and Don Rea in a press conference
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The majority of that – $300,000 – would be donated to a charity of the pro’s choice while $200,000 was marked officially as a stipend, allowing the golfer to do whatever he pleased with it.
Captain Bradley and player, Xander Schauffele are among those who confirmed they would be donating the entire sum to good causes, and that is expected to be the path many – if not all – of the Californian’s teammates follow.
Discussing the topic in the days leading up to the 2025 Ryder Cup, Bradley defended the scrutiny placed upon his team after the call was made and reiterated their use of the increased cash.
He said: “Well, the PGA of America came to me, they wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into the present day. The charity dollars hadn’t changed since 1999 and they asked me to sort of shepherd their way into making it into 2025.
“I think for everyone it’s a personal decision. A lot of…
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