United States captain Keegan Bradley defended his Ryder Cup players receiving a payment boost from the PGA of America to compete against Europe in this week’s showdown at Bethpage Black.
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Each US player had been paid $200,000 since 1999, funds designated for a player-picked charity and for PGA of America youth golf and education programs.
This year, the PGA of America gives each player $500,000 with at least $300,000 designated for charities of a player’s choice and the other a $200,000 stipend to be used however each individual player sees fit.
The move, Bradley said Tuesday, was designed to boost charity donations and update offerings for the first time in a quarter-century.
“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,” said Bradley, who plans to donate his additional $200,000 stipend to charity.
Europe players will not be paid to participate, with Europe captain Luke Donald saying seeking any kind of payment for Ryder Cup duty was not on his team’s radar.
“This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it and talk to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the US were going to do something different with payments,” Donald told Sky Sports.
“Every one of them was just like ‘we don’t want to get paid – this isn’t a week to get paid’. We have such a strong purpose in this team and what we play for.
“To be honest, we reinvest some of that money back into the experience of these guys. I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life, that’s worth more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in the back of your pocket.
“For me, I was very proud of the guys. The ideals of how this Ryder Cup was set up back in the 1920s by Samuel Ryder and I think he would have been proud too.”
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Bradley wasn’t worried about the idea the money might show the Cup means more to Europe players.
“I don’t really get that,” Bradley said. “I’m not concerned about what Europe does or what they think. I’m concerned about what my team is doing.
“I was tasked with a job the PGA of America asked me to do, and this was what we decided. We wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into today’s age and we felt like this was the best way to do it.”
Bradley said the move was similar to what is done by the Presidents Cup, a PGA Tour-backed event between US and non-European International sides.
“We copied a lot of what the Presidents Cup does,” Bradley said. “We did the best we could and I think a lot of good is going to come from this. I think the players are going to do a lot of good with this money and I think it’s great.
“The players are really good people and are going to do a lot of good things.”
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Charities to receive funds have not been designated publically by US players.
“I think for everyone it’s a personal decision. A lot of guys aren’t comfortable sharing what they’re going to do with their money, but we’re going to donate,” Bradley said.
“I don’t donate to charities to publicise what we’re doing. These guys on our team are incredible people, and they do a lot of incredible things with charity dollars and with their foundations.
“A lot of them aren’t comfortable sharing that sort of information, and I feel the same way.” Donald, ESPN reported, said the payments could produce a US fan backlash given the high prices to attend the event near New York.
“We all know how high the ticket prices are, and it’s going to be an expensive trip out for a family of four,” Donald said.
“If the US players are getting paid a stipend, or whatever it is, and they aren’t performing, the New Yorkers could make them know about it.”
