It’s fair to say that the PGA of America’s decision to pay its players at the 2025 Ryder Cup has caused quite the stir in the golfing word.
Team USA will receive around $400k each for the tournament at Bethpage Black and the decision has been one of golf’s big talking points recently.
Over in Europe, the stance is very much that the Ryder Cup is an honour to play in and with that, payments aren’t needed.
Rory McIlroy has said he’d pay to play in it, while fellow Irishman Shane Lowry has said he’s happy to play for free as well.
Of course, over in the USA, there’s been some who back the decision, including Rex Hoggard.
However, one American player who isn’t quite behind the decision is Patrick Reed.
Patrick Reed agrees with Rory McIlroy when it comes to Team USA paying Ryder Cup players
Speaking over at the International Series in Qatar this weekend, Reed was asked for his thoughts on the matter.
And according to Reed, the payments are just not needed.
“It’s such a touchy subject,” Reed said. “With having six picks, if you finish inside the top 12 and the captain decides to skip over you and pick someone else, not only did you not get to play, but you also just lost $400k.
“So, to me, I feel like it’s a pretty sticky kind of situation. In the past, when I was part of Ryder Cups, none of the players or caddies were ever sitting there and talking about whether we got paid or not. None of us could really care.
“All we cared about was playing the Ryder Cup, representing your country, going out and playing against Europe, and hopefully bringing the cup home or keeping the cup.
“At Whistling Straits, I was 11th in the standings, and they didn’t pick me. All I know is I’d be pretty annoyed if I finished 11th, didn’t get picked, and so not only am I not playing, but I also lost $400k.
“I don’t know how that would all happen and take care of itself, but I don’t like it personally.”
Ryder Cup payments will become the norm
While this is the first year it’s being implemented from the USA side of things, it won’t be a surprise to see this become the norm for the whole event.
While the Europeans are happy for the money on their side to filter down into the European game at all levels, there may well come a time when Europe follow the Americans.
Money is such a dominant factor in the game of golf right now and over time, you can imagine this being a regular occurrence.
The best thing Team USA could do with the payments is make public where the money has gone, with some players likely to donate to charity.
If all 12 do that, then the game will come out looking a lot better.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
