There are many differences between the U.S. and Europe in this Ryder Cup, but nothing is as distinctive as their bank account.
In short, Americans (as individuals) benefit from participation in the Cup. There is no in Europe. At least not direct. Of course, the context is more subtle.
Of the past 12 Ryder Cups, dating back to 1999, the U.S. golfers and captains have donated $200,000 to the charity of their choice. It started in a controversial way, and Captain Ben Crenshaw “chased” American players a month before the 1999 PGA Championship held in Medinah. But Crenshaw is fighting a strong rival: top players Tiger Woods and David Duval aren’t keen on the cup-like company.
“It’s not greed,” Woods said at the time. “It’s the fact that we want to help. We want to donate to local charities. There’s a lot of money from the Ryder Cup, and it’s become a corporate event.”
That year was the first year of a $200,000 charitable payment, which usually benefits the player’s base. Since then…that amount has never changed.
This year, the U.S. side will not only charge $300,000 in donations from their chosen charities, but will also receive a $200,000 stipend related to their wishes. Reports about this change broke down in November and were completed by the PGA in December.
“Well, the American PGA comes to me and they want to bring the Ryder Cup to today,” Captain America Keegan Bradley clarified on Bethpage Black on Monday. “Charity money hasn’t changed since 1999 and they asked me to bring it into 2025.”
In an era of giving players power and huge valuation of television rights, this arrangement won’t attract much attention if it didn’t compete with the situation of the opponent.
European players do no Payment of any kind was received, and when Captain Luke Donald asked about potential changes in the tradition, the team clearly decided that any such income should continue to benefit the DP World Tour directly, many of whom participated in the first professional event.
European captain Luke Donald told Sky Sports on Monday. “I talked to 12 people in Rome, like the United States is going to do something different about payments, and, each of them is like, ‘We don’t want to – it’s not a week’s reward.’”
This all follows the controversial 2023 Cup, when compensation once again became a hot topic. Various reports have claimed that Patrick Cantlay’s hat-free uniform has silently protested against the compensation arrangement. Although Cantlay denied the idea, Xander Schauffele’s father Stefan was indeed on the record record, and reporters called for greater transparency on Ryder Cup’s profits. The event is a huge money-maker for both parties to ownership (US PGA and DPWT), especially for the custody aspect. Financial documents show that the Family Ryder Cup is very important to the sustainability of the DPWT, which undoubtedly makes the decision clearly part of the European team.
But last fall, in the opinion court, was an immediate response from European players such as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, both of whom said they were happy to pay for the Ryder Cup because of how much the event meant to them. Keegan Bradley then promised to receive all $500,000 that he received would go to charity. Tiger Woods spoke at an event in the Bahamas a few weeks later, literally speaking.
“If Europeans want to pay for the Ryder Cup, that’s the decision they do, that’s their team,” Woods said. “I know when on European land, it can subsidize most of their tours, so it’s a big event for European tours, and if they want to pay to go to the competition, that’s it.”
While this result is unlikely, it is obvious that the topic will not disappear anytime soon and may divide these teams forever.
