Xander Schauffele and his U.S. teammates knew they would be getting questions this week as practice kicked off for the Ryder Cup. The American team will be paid this week for the first time in the event’s 98-year history.
“You guys keep talking about it and trying to make it this negative thing. It’s whatever everyone views it as,” Schauffele said. “There’s a lot of pride that comes into playing in one of these. And yes, we’re happy to get paid for this. And yes, I plan on donating it. It’s something that selfishly will make me feel good about what I do.”
Why won’t the story go away?
The payments are a reminder of the sharp divide with the European team, who will not be paid.
The PGA of America approached U.S. captain Keegan Bradley last year with the idea of compensating players. In November, they voted to give the 12 players and Bradley $300,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, in addition to a $200,000 stipend to spend as they see fit. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and most of his teammates plan to donate the entire amount to charity.
“I’ve never been one to announce what we do,” Scheffler said. “I don’t like to give charitable dollars for some kind of recognition. We have something planned for the money that we’ll be receiving. I think it’s a really cool thing that the PGA of America has empowered us to do.”
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Even though the United States has 27 wins in the 98-year history of Ryder Cup competition, since 2002, Europe has won 8 of the last 11 tournaments.
What does the controversy mean for the rivalry?
The “pay for play” questions have added to the rivalry, not that it needed much. Team Europe has won 8 of the last 11 Ryder Cup competitions since 2002, including the most recent match in Rome in 2023. Captain Luke Donald polled his players, and their stance is that playing for pride and country is enough.
“This isn’t a week to get paid. Everyone was like, ‘We haven’t even considered playing for money for that event,'” Donald said. “We have a great purpose, and that’s really enough for us. A couple of hundred thousand dollars to these guys isn’t a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.”
If that sounds a bit like a shot at the Americans, as if it doesn’t mean as much to them, Bradley and his players aren’t taking the bait — at least publicly.
“I’m not concerned about what Europe does or what they think,” Bradley said. “I’m concerned about what my team is doing… we copied a lot of what the Presidents Cup does. We did the best we could. You can say [it means more to Europe], but I think that the players are really good people and are going to do a lot of good things.”
What was Patrick Cantlay’s reaction?
American player Patrick Cantlay was at the center of the controversy two years ago in Rome. He reportedly didn’t wear a Team USA hat during the tournament as a protest for not being paid. He once again denied it, saying the hat didn’t fit in 2023, and this year he has one that does.
“This event is very good at generating lots of noise, and that’s not going to help us put points on the board,” Cantlay said. “I think we need to put 100% of our focus on playing the best golf we can and let the noise be exactly what it is, just noise.”
Will President Trump attend the tournament?
That noise will get a boost on Friday when President Donald Trump visits the event in Bethpage, New York. Scheffler said he didn’t know if Trump would speak to the team, but welcomed his presence at the tournament.
“To have the president here, it’s been a tough few weeks for our country with some of the stuff that’s been going on,” Scheffler said. “To have our president here and for us to represent the United States of America is extremely important for us, and we’re excited to be on home soil with the home crowd.”
Bradley agreed with Scheffler, saying anytime you get a chance to be around a president, it’s a “phenomenal thing.”
“When you’re representing your country at a place like Bethpage Black in New York, having the president there to support you is something that is just absolutely incredible,” Bradley said. “I’m really grateful to him for doing that for us.”
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