Practically a century of custom is ready to be flushed down the bathroom with the US Ryder Cup crew to be paid for the primary time ever at subsequent yr’s match at Bethpage Black in New York.
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The battle between America and Europe has all the time been about honour and status as gamers have performed free of charge – like on the Olympic Video games – however the UK Telegraph has reported that the PGA of America plan to pay every US participant US$400,000 for the week (about A$8m collectively) in response to current squabbling over cash.
Final yr’s Ryder Cup in Rome was stricken by chatter of whether or not or not gamers ought to be paid to play within the occasion.
American Patrick Cantlay infamously was accused of waging a protest – which he denied – in opposition to not being paid by selecting to not put on a crew hat and the eight-time PGA Tour winner was plagued by the European followers consequently.
Xander Schauffele’s father, Stefan, added to the pile on within the wake of Europe’s crushing victory final yr by encouraging the PGA of America “to have the gamers share in that revenue as a substitute of being so damned untransparent about it”.
It now seems that they’ve wilted to these calls for.
The optics for the PGA of America are extremely poor because the report comes about on the similar time golf followers took to social media to lament the organisation charging US$1,136.94 for a pre-sale ticket to subsequent yr’s Ryder Cup.
READ MORE: $1.1k a ticket and paying to volunteer: Inside Ryder Cup’s absurd ‘cash seize’ drama
Europe alternatively are sticking with custom and don’t have any intentions of paying their gamers.
Members of Luke Donald’s crew stay steadfast that they characterize their continent for “ardour” alone, and perceive that the DP World Tour – previously named the European Tour – wants the monetary windfall from the Ryder Cup.
“They will do no matter they need,” one Europe participant instructed the UK Telegraph. “However we don’t need funds in our financial institution accounts, because it’ll be the skinny finish of the wedge and isn’t what the Ryder Cup is about.
“Let’s face it, plenty of the American gamers have been angling in direction of this for years, if not a long time.
“If it does go forward, then it is going to be attention-grabbing to see how the followers react at Bethpage, though they’ll in all probability announce it as simply an extension of what already occurs.”
The loudest calls among the many People for cash from the Ryder Cup started in 1999.
Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara and David Duval went public with their objections to the PGA of America not boosting their financial institution accounts again then.
The organisation – which boasts greater than 30,000 membership professionals amongst its members – has not stored all the cash for themselves nonetheless.
They’ve donated US$200,000 per participant at every Ryder Cup with half of that sum going to the event of junior golf, and the opposite half going to a charity of the participant’s alternative.
However with the cash now set to go on to the participant, Woods’ want would lastly come true.
“I wish to see us obtain regardless of the quantity is – 200, 300, 400, 500,000 {dollars}, no matter it’s – and I feel we should always be capable to preserve the cash and do no matter we see match,” Woods mentioned in 1999.
“Personally, I’d donate all of it to charity. However I feel it’s as much as the opposite particular person’s discretion what they’d do with it. With all the cash that’s being made, I feel that we should always have a say in the place it goes.”
The European viewpoint is the polar reverse, and the fee fiasco has the facility to show followers in opposition to the People subsequent yr, when the Ryder Cup turns 98 years previous.
Bethpage Black will nonetheless be a hostile surroundings for Donald’s crew as those that can stump up the money to attend shall be doing every part of their energy to attempt cease crew Europe from claiming their first win on overseas soil in 13 years.
However there’ll certainly be a larger feeling of fine will in direction of the Europeans among the many broader {golfing} public as they keep true to the highly effective phrases their English captain uttered in Rome.
“It’s one week the place you play for greater than your self, not about cash or factors, it’s about coming collectively as a crew and the followers feed off that – it’s all ardour,” he mentioned. “I don’t suppose we should always ever receives a commission.”