In a statement, the organisation that runs the Ryder Cup in the US said that “while no players asked to be compensated,” the PGA of America Board of Directors had voted to increase the allocation to the members of the US Ryder Cup team from $200,000 to $500,000.
The PGA of America added that $300,000 of the $500,000 was “to be directed to the charity or charities of the players’ choice.”
“The balance is a stipend,” the statement said.
The statement comes more than a month after the Telegraph reported that US players were to be paid $400,000 each, drawing multiple comments from European players, including Rory McIlroy, who said he’d happily pay to play for Europe.
The news did not go down well with 12 past US Ryder Cup captains, who recently wrote to the PGA of America lobbying against the plan.
One former captain, who did not wish to be named, told Sports Illustrated that the original stipend of $200,000 “was never intended to get out.”
Former captain Ben Crenshaw told Sports Illustrated: “My opinion is no one should be compensated to play for our country and the Ryder Cup.
“The agreement that was made from ’99 was for the players to receive money for their foundations that in turn go to charities and that is something we all agreed on. My position has never changed, nor will it, even though the game has.
“I’m not sure if this is what the current players want. My hope is no and that they will be content with the money going to their charities.
“After all, I feel it necessary to honour all the Ryder Cup participants who came before us who proudly represented our country and the PGA of America.”
US captain Keegan Bradley and several US players were asked about the issue at the recent Hero World Challenge.
“What I can say is that not a single player has asked for this, has come to me with this,” Bradley said. “No player was part of this. Zero percent.”
The controversy over the payments came just over a year after Patrick Cantlay was forced to deny that his decision not to wear a cap during the 2023 matches in Rome was a protest over compensation.
McIlroy said at the DP World Tour Championship in November: “I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup.”
