Rory McIlroy provided a bullish response when he was asked about the United States Ryder Cup players receiving payment at the 2025 Bethpage Black event.
Each USA star will earn $400,000 for competing in the three-day event on Long Island. The decision, which still needs to be ratified, sparked much debate across the golfing sphere.
McIlroy said he would play for free, and several European players and pundits have supported the Northern Irishman’s stance.
American players, many of whom have been taking a break from the course after the Presidents Cup, are starting to return to the media spotlight. The Hero World Challenge in Albany could serve as the perfect stage for their reactions to be shared.
First, Tiger Woods—the host of the Hero World Challenge—was challenged on the Ryder Cup payment decision. The 15-time major played the situation diplomatically. Woods said the US wages should go to charity rather than finding the already deep pockets of those set to feature at Bethpage.
Scottie Scheffler, also returning to action this week, has also been thrown under the Ryder Cup spotlight, and the world number one has revealed whether he would happily play the event for free.
Whether Scottie Scheffler would play Ryder Cup for free
Speaking on Wednesday, Scheffler confirmed that he and several US players would be happy to pay to play in the Ryder Cup.
“I think every one of our players would pay to play in the Ryder Cup if that is what was asked of us. It would be a little bit silly for a tournament which makes hundreds of millions of dollars to ask for the players to pay as well. But I think we all would. I definitely would,” said the world number one.
“I never played golf for money. I played golf because I loved the game and competition. My motivating factor has never been more money.”
Scheffler added: “I think there is a lot of stuff in this life and game that you can do for money, and I have never been one of those players who seeks to build a business brand for myself. What I love is coming out here and competing and playing golf, and I love going home and living my life.”
2025 Ryder Cup: Europe set to use USA payment row
It’s likely that most of the USA players had little to no say in the decision to offer payment. However, this discussion will persist until the first tee in New York. The narrative of ‘greedy Americans vs. passionate Europeans’ is sure to generate excitement for those eager to create a media frenzy leading up to the event.
Three-time Ryder Cup player Hunter Mahan said: “I think it being one-sided could be a little bit of a storyline. I think the European side and the fans are definitely going to use it, and I think the players will definitely use it when they can, before and even during the event.
| Player | 2024 Earnings | |
| 1 | Scottie Scheffler | $29,228,357 |
| 2 | Xander Schauffele | $18,355,910 |
| 3 | Hideki Matsuyama | $11,237,611 |
| 4 | Wyndham Clark | $10,901,416 |
| 5 | Rory McIlroy | $10,893,790 |
| 6 | Ludvig Aberg | $9,728,857 |
| 7 | Collin Morikawa | $8,365,977 |
| 8 | Sahith Theegala | $8,281,285 |
| 9 | Keegan Bradley | $6,879,455 |
“We’ve already seen Shane and Rory kind of speaking out about it, so I think for a year, it could be a little bit of needling in a way, which I think this event is prone to do is to find something and use it… I know the European media is going to run with it like crazy.”
As Scheffler reiterates, it’s somewhat unfair to brandish the entire US roster in the same way. The world number one, clearly, isn’t in it for the money. $400,000 would be an insignificant sum in Scheffler’s hands.
Although the groundbreaking decision was meant well, it has probably caused the US side an unnecessary problem in the lead-up to one of the most eagerly anticipated Ryder Cups in years.
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