Starting in 2025 at Bethpage Black, members of the United States Ryder Cup team will be paid to play. The PGA of America announced Monday morning that it will provide a “stipend” for players, in addition to increasing the amount it designates for each player’s charitable donations.
The PGA of America will increase the amount of charitable donation per player from $200,000 to $300,000, and will also provide a $200,000 stipend for the players involved. The PGA noted that the charitable donation figure was “unchanged since 1999” and specifically indicated that “no player asked to be paid.”
While no player may have explicitly held out their hand and demanded money, Americans have long hinted in the strongest possible terms that they believe their time in the Ryder Cup is worth compensation. Last fall at the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone in Italy, rumors swirled that Patrick Cantlay, among other players, had complained about the lack of compensation. The result was an ugly afternoon on the course that devolved into shouting matches off it, a far cry from the spirit of international competition that the Ryder Cup is supposed to represent.
The Ryder Cup is a spectacularly profitable operation, generating substantial revenue for the PGA of America and the DP World Tour, its European counterpart. The 2025 edition has already sold out despite tickets priced at a minimum of $750 apiece.
European players have not indicated any desire to be paid for their participation. Europe has won eight of the 11 Ryder Cups held in the 21st century.
“I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup,” Rory McIlroy told BBC Sport last month. “The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it’s partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved.”
The 2025 Ryder Cup will be held at Bethpage Black in New York. Europe currently holds the Cup after a victory last fall in Italy.
