Americans will be paid to play in the Ryder Cup for the first time under a new PGA of America program announced Monday that gives them a $200,000 stipend and $300,000 for them to distribute to charity.
The $500,000 directed to each of the 12 players and the captain is an increase from the $200,000 — strictly for charity — that began when the pay-for-play issue first arose in 1999 ahead of the Brookline matches.
U.S. captain Keegan Bradley said in a text he would be giving his entire allocation to charity.
“We added the $200,000 stipend out of respect for the players ... so the players could have a say in where the money goes. It’s recognition for all the players have done for the Ryder Cup over the years,” President Don Rea said in a letter to past Ryder Cup captains, noting the stipend would be separate from what players get for expenses.
The PGA of America board met in person last week and approved the payment scheme.
“We’ve had so many meetings for a long time and it hasn’t gone up since 1999. We’re talking 25 years that it’s been at $200,000,” Rea said in a telephone interview, adding that $500,000 “seemed like the right place to land.”
“Everyone is appreciative of what the players are doing for the Ryder Cup.”
That appreciation now includes direct payment for their services, a change not only in the amount but 40% of it without stipulation where it goes.
The original deal in 1999 was $200,000 for each player, with half of that going to a college golf program and the other half to a charity of the player's choice. For the Rome matches in 2023, the entire $200,000 went to whatever charity or foundation the players chose.
Rea noted in his letter to past Ryder Cup captains that it was similar to what the PGA Tour does for the Presidents Cup.
The Presidents Cup changed from players choosing a charity to players and captains getting $250,000 without stipulation starting in 2022.
The PGA of America announced its decision in a statement on its social media channels.
“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,” the PGA said.
“While no players asked to be compensated, the PGA of America Board of Directors has voted to increase the allocation to the members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team from $200,000 to be directed to charities — a figure unchanged since 1999 — to $500,000, with $300,000 of that to be directed to the charity or charities of the players’ choice. The balance is a stipend.
“Golf is a long-established vehicle for good and it’s exciting to imagine the impact the members of the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup team will deliver for worthy causes and communities across the country, including the many initiatives that support the growth of the game.”
The most recent pay-for-play topic already has become a talking point for next September’s matches at Bethpage Black, providing easy fodder to a European team that has won the cup 10 out of the last 14 times, including 2023 at Marco Simone.
“I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup,” Rory McIlroy said in an interview with BBC Sport last month. “The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it’s partly because of ... the purity of no money being involved.”
An unsubstantiated report at the last Ryder Cup suggested Patrick Cantlay refused to wear a hat out of protest he wasn’t getting paid, which led to some 40,000 fans waving their hats at him right up until he made a 45-foot putt on the last hole to win a fourballs match.
“Not a shred of truth in the article that just one journalist wrote,” Cantlay said at the Ryder Cup.
There are differences in Ryder Cup finances depending on where it is held. The European tour has a share in Ryder Cup Europe, and the tour would struggle to survive without profits from the matches when they are played in Europe.
The PGA of America operates the event in America. It pays 20% of the broadcast revenue to the PGA Tour — effectively serving as a release fee for using tour players — and that money goes into the tour’s general operating budget.
Kerry Haigh, the chief championships officer and interim CEO at the PGA of America, painted a picture of a changing landscape in sports.
“It’s been 25 years and now certainly is the time,” Haigh said. “There have been discussions over that time. We truly appreciate what every player and captain has done, all the money that was given to charity. Now is the time, which is why our board has made the decision for more money to charity as well as a stipend.”
He said the assistant captains also would get a smaller package than the 12 players and captain.
Tiger Woods said two weeks ago in the Bahamas the topic was the same as 1999, when he said players wanted more say in how the money was spent but it was portrayed as them wanting to be paid for playing.
“The Ryder Cup itself makes so much money," Woods said. "Why can’t we allocate it to various charities? And what’s wrong with each player, 12 players getting a million dollars and the ability to divvy out to amazing charities that they’re involved in that they can help out?”
Now the players get the best of both worlds, $300,000 for their charity and $200,000 for themselves.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press
