The PGA of America is considering a decision to pay members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team when the biennial competition is next played Sept. 26-28, 2025, at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York telegraph. Members of Team USA are expected to receive $400,000, while members of the European side will continue to play for the love of the game.
The move to pay out $5 million to the American team follows a heated contest between the teams at the Marco Simone in Rome in 2023, where talk of money echoed through the stadium and played a role in what led to A controversial back and forth between the players led to both teams. There were reports that Patrick Cantlay and other Americans demanded payment to participate.
After Rory McIlroy had to be separated from Joe LaCava, Cantlay's caddy, after a four-ball game on the 18th green on Saturday, he caused tension in the parking lot, where he was seen yelling at U.S. members before Teammate Shane Lowry was finally forced into his spare car to prevent further escalation.
“They can do whatever they want,” one European player told the Telegraph. “But we don’t want payments in our bank accounts as that will be the thin end of the wedge and is not what the Ryder Cup is about. Let's be honest, a lot of American players have been hoping for this for years, if not decades, then it will be interesting to see how the fans at Bethpage react, although they will probably just herald it as an extension of what is already happening.
Discussions about Ryder Cup payments are nothing new for the Red, White and Blue.
Tiger Woods, along with several of his teammates, was a strong supporter of compensation for playing in the 1999 Ryder Cup. Instead, the PGA of America agreed to award $100,000 to charity on behalf of each player and an additional $100,000 to youth golf organizations donate. This practice has remained in place since then, but may soon be eliminated depending on the PGA of America's final decision on the matter.
A final decision is unlikely to be made until the PGA of America hires a new CEO.
