‘I would pay to play!’ European stars weigh in on controversial Ryder Cup pay debate

Some of Team Europe’s biggest names have responded to reports that US players will be paid to play in the biennial match.

The Telegraph reported on Wednesday that almost $4 million will be split between America’s 12 players at Bethpage next year.

It would mark the first time in the 97-year history of the Ryder Cup that golfers would be paid, although Team Europe doesn’t appear likely to follow suit.

And, according to the likes of Rory McIlroy, that’s fine.

“I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup,” he said after the opening round of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. “I’ve talked about this a lot. The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics. Both have purity because no money is involved. I don’t want to say being paid would taint the match, but it would give it a different feel.

“What we’ve done a really good job of is being this really cohesive group over the past decade. We wouldn’t want anything to change that.”

But while McIlroy does “get the argument that the talent should be or could be getting paid”, he “can see the other side of the argument”.

He added: “The Ryder Cup does create a lot of revenue. It is probably one of the top-five sporting events in the world.

“But the Ryder Cup is so much more than that, especially to the Europeans and to our tour. We’ve all had a conversation with [European captain] Luke [Donald] over the past few weeks. The consensus is that $5 million or whatever paid to the team would be better spent elsewhere on the DP World Tour – or even to support the Challenge Tour.”

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McIlroy’s good friend Shane Lowry agrees, with the 37-year-old saying it would “probably be silly of me to comment on it”.

He added: “Where would I stand on it? I can only speak for myself. I don’t really care whether I did or not, to be honest. The Ryder Cup is a privilege, and it’s what I work for.

“It’s what I’ve worked for for the last ten, 15 years, to be able to play Ryder Cups, and I’ve been fortunate to do two of them and have great experiences at them and build my brand playing Ryder Cups. I love the tournament, and I just want to be involved. I don’t care whether I get paid or not.”

Donald – and his visiting team – will look to retain the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black after a convincing win at Marco Simone last year.

Europe has lost the last two contests in America, including a thrashing at Whistling Straits in 2021, but Lowry insists being paid would be of little benefit.

“No, we don’t need any more motivation to go next year and win,” he continued.

“We all know in Europe that the tour lives off the Ryder Cup, and it helps run the tour. Not that we’re happy to be a part of something – like you don’t think about it when you’re there.

“You know that obviously the Ryder Cup makes a lot of money, and it helps run The European Tour, the DP World Tour.”

One thing on Lowry’s mind, until the qualification process is finished, is playing his way onto the plane, and being a part of the match before has financially rewarded the Open champion enough.

“You’re not even giving back because it’s a privilege to be there. I’d give anything to know I’m on the team next year. I’m going to spend the next ten months stressing my head off trying to make the team.”

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Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, says he has “genuinely never thought of getting paid to play”.

The Englishman, who has delivered eight points from a possible 12 in his three Ryder Cup appearances, added: “I’ve never really thought it was a thing. So I’m not really going to worry about it now. It’s likely we’ll still have the same system as we’ve had until now. And we’ll still play for the same reasons that we’ve always played.

“Honestly, it’s not something I would worry about. Pay me nothing or pay me ten million to play in the Ryder Cup, I’m still going to play it.”

One issue facing the European team is which LIV stars will be eligible for Bethpage next September. And while Tyrrell Hatton, who jumped ship to join Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII ahead of the 2024 season, may have taken the Saudi payday, he’s not interested in that being the case when it comes to the 97-year-old biennial clash.

“I’ve never thought about being paid to play,” he insisted. “It’s such an honour to be a part of the 12 that play, so it’s not really a thought process for me.

“As for the US lads, it’s up to them. If it ends up being that the US team are being paid to play, I wouldn’t say it would change the mindset of a European team. We’d still go out there and try our best to win a point and retain the Ryder Cup.

“They are the most amazing weeks of our lives, the pinnacle of golf. That shows in how everyone kind of speaks about it, certainly from our side. So it doesn’t bother me what the Americans end up doing.”

John Turnbull contributed to this report.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor