Former USA Ryder Cup star Hunter Mahan has reacted to the news that American players will be paid for the first time in the competition’s 97-year history.
Each American player will receive $400,000 for competing at next September’s Bethpage Black event. However, the saga isn’t new.
US Ryder Cup players nearly boycotted in 1999 after raising the issue before the iconic Battle of Brookline at The Country Club.
European players, on the other hand, won’t be paid, and the message from Luke Donald’s camp has been clear. Rory McIlroy said he would pay to play the Ryder Cup, and Irishman Shane Lowry issued a similar message.
Mahan, however, supported the decision of the American authorities.
Hunter Mahan reacts to Rory McIlroy’s comments
Mahan, who competed in three Ryder Cups, initially responded in two words when asked whether US players should be paid.
“I do,” Mahan told Golf Monthly. “It doesn’t need to be lot, I mean, it’s not millions of dollars or anything, but, I think when your goods and services are being used for someone else’s gain, you should be able to sort of recoup some of that money because they’re using you, right?”
The American then went on to react to McIlroy’s comments. “Saying that what Rory said [he’d pay to play in the Ryder Cup] and I saw what Shane Lowry said, I don’t want to speak for everybody, but having played in a few of them, the experience in itself is incredible and overwhelming at times so it’s not something that you would need to be paid to play but at the end of the day it is sort of a goods and services transaction.
“I think some players want to feel like, ‘hey, we’re not being taken advantage of’, and in this day and age, player empowerment is coming up.”
USA decision adds new dynamic to 2025 Ryder Cup
The decision to pay the United States team was always going to be made, but is it the right one? The Ryder Cup has always meant something more, and perhaps breaking a 97-year tradition demonstrates where the event is heading.
As witnessed at the 2024 Olympics, players are more than happy to play for free when representing their nation. However, after excessive Ryder Cup ticket prices emerged, those in positions of power left little room to manoeuvre, particularly after Patrick Cantlay’s reported protest in 2023.
Hopefully, some of the USA players will turn this scenario into a PR victory. By donating their match fees, the media and those on the European side won’t be able to drum up a frenzy in the lead-up to the event.
With ten months to go, it will be interesting to see if any high-profile statements emerge from Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.
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