Money was on the minds and tongues of many in the run-up to the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black – specifically, the compensation U.S. players and captain Keegan Bradley received for their participation in the biennial matches.
Last November, the PGA of America voted to give each American player and Bradley $500,000, with $300,000 designated for charities of the recipients’ choice and $200,000 paid as a stipend. Previously, the American players and captain had received $200,000 to donate to charity, a practice that began in 1999. The European team receives no direct compensation for Ryder Cup participation.
Questioned about the cash in his kickoff press conference last Monday at Bethpage Black, Bradley elaborated on the genesis of the new arrangement. “[The PGA of America] wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into the present day. The charity dollars hadn’t changed since 1999,” Bradley said. “And they asked me to sort of shepherd their way into making it into 2025.”
Bradley also pushed back against criticism of the pay and the notion that it conveys the Ryder Cup means more to the Europeans. “I don’t really get that,” Bradley said. “I think the goal here was that the charity dollars hadn’t been raised in 25, 26 years, and that’s what we started out doing.”
Meanwhile, European captain Luke Donald advanced the narrative that his team opposed the idea of being paid for playing in the Ryder Cup. “Every one of them was like, ‘This isn’t a week to get paid,’” Donald said in an interview with Sky Sports. “We have such a strong purpose in this team and what we play for.”
Bradley and multiple American players, including Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay, said they would donate their entire $500,000 payment to charity. “We have something planned for the money that we’ll be receiving,” Scheffler said on Tuesday. “I think it’s a really cool thing that the PGA of America has empowered us to do.” READ MORE
Maddie Meyer, PGA of America
Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee agitated the pre-event conversation by calling U.S. player Bryson DeChambeau “a captain’s nightmare.”
Chamblee’s comments followed DeChambeau’s response to Rory McIlroy’s recent comments suggesting that DeChambeau seeks attention by mentioning other players, including McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. In an interview last Monday with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, DeChambeau sidestepped McIlroy’s comments, instead focusing on his efforts to “inspire kids on YouTube.”
Chamblee subsequently pounced on the exchange, suggesting that DeChambeau’s YouTube viewership numbers were inflated by bots and calling out the charismatic American for glossing over the meaning of being part of the American team.
“It’s one of the reasons why I think he’s going to be such a difficult person to get paired with,” Chamblee said. “No doubt he’s one hell of a golfer. No doubt he has his moments of generosity with fans; I have heard about them. But he’s an odd duck when he’s trying to blend in with the team, and he has so many potential bulletin-board mistakes. I think he would be a captain’s nightmare.”
Asked about Chamblee’s comments and the questions he raised about DeChambeau’s YouTube viewership numbers, DeChambeau again chose diplomacy over debate.
“I think any time that people can throw stuff at me like that, I enjoy it. I appreciate it. I think it’s good for ultimately the game of golf because it starts to spur conversation on,” DeChambeau said. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
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Compiled by Mike Cullity