A few weeks ago, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that the PGA of America was working on a plan to pay each U.S. golfer a large sum of money to play in the Ryder Cup – golf’s biggest showcase – a measure that would come into effect for the Bethpage Black edition in 2025. This reopened an important debate in the golfing world and the fact is that the Anglo-Saxon media was right, although not in the final amounts known today.
The PGA of America currently gives each player $200,000, which they are required to donate to one or more charities of their choice. This measure came about after the 1999 Ryder Cup. Prior to that event, the American team negotiated this agreement and there was talk of a boycott by its players. It all had to do with the distribution of profits and it emerged that it was Mark O’Meara who wanted to change the system, but a group including David Duval, Tiger Woods, Scott Hoch, Lee Janzen and Jack Nicklaus – according to Golf Digest – opted for charitable gain. Captain Ben Crenshaw mediated among his players to reach an understanding.
In the last edition of the biennial tournament, in Rome last year, Patrick Cantlay did not wear a cap and it was speculated that it was a form of protest for not receiving payment for playing in the event. He has always denied this, but the fact is that the debate came back to the fore, with more intensity in recent weeks.
The result is that today a new plan has been announced that increases the amount given to each player to make donations – from $200,000 to $300,000 – and most strikingly adds another $200,000, which is a payment for playing in the tournament and does not have to be devoted to charity. The US captain for the next Ryder Cup, Keegan Bradley, told GolfChannel.com that he plans to donate his full allocation.
PGA president Don Rea told the same outlet: “The message is that we want to grow this sport and help charities. The players are also our members and we treat them the same as all our members.” According to an official PGA statement, “no player has asked to be compensated” in exchange for participating in the Ryder Cup and Rea added that they have not been consulted on this decision.
Consequently, the ‘altruistic’ gesture by the PGA of America ends 97 years of tradition by implementing a $200,000 stipend for its players. If anything is clear, it is that those in charge of this organization are looking to avoid problems with those members who have slipped their discontent with playing for free, although not publicly, because it is an empirical fact that no large organization gives away such sums when “no one” has asked for it. A few days ago, Scheffler commented: “I think everybody on the US team is more than happy to play the Ryder Cup for free”. It is by no means unfair to be paid, but perhaps the world number one was very generous in including all his teammates
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