Shane Lowry says if he wants to be paid to play at the Ryder Cup with Team USA set to hand out $5m

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The Ryder Cup looks set to experience a significant change at Bethpage in 2025, with the USA team set to be paid for the first time in the competition’s history.

Some will feel that it was almost inevitable that Team USA would receive payment in New York after what happened at Marco Simone last year. There were reports that Patrick Cantlay was not wearing a cap in an apparent protest at the players not being paid to play.

Cantlay denied that that was the case. But his doubters will point to the fact that each American player is now set to receive around $400,000 for taking part at Bethpage. One unnamed European player insisted that Luke Donald’s side will not be playing for money.

And Shane Lowry has responded to the reports. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Lowry – who has represented Europe in 2021 and 2023 – suggested that he would not need any financial incentive to play in the event as he was asked about the reports.

Shane Lowry reacts to reports claiming USA players will be paid at next year’s Ryder Cup

“I saw the story, but I’m not sure how – it’s not been confirmed yet,” he said.

“It would probably be silly of me to comment on it, really. Where would I stand on it? I can only speak for myself. I don’t really care whether I did [get paid] or not, to be honest. You know, the Ryder Cup is a privilege, and it’s what I work for.

“It’s what I’ve worked for for the last 10, 15 years, to be able to play Ryder Cups, and I’ve been fortunate to do two of them and have great experiences at them and build my brand playing Ryder Cups.

“I think, yeah, I love the tournament, and I just want to be involved. I don’t care whether I get paid or not.”

Why Team USA may feel entitled to receive payment

For a lot of golf fans, it will be disappointing to see the Americans get paid for taking part. Ultimately, one of the reasons that fans love the Ryder Cup so much is because it is so clear just what the event means to the players when there is little more to gain than the pride of winning for your team.

You can understand the American point of view to an extent, when a lot of wealthy figures probably make a lot of money from the event. There are a lot of people – including the volunteers – who deserve some financial reward for helping make the Ryder Cup what it is. Of course, fans are also getting charged a huge sum to attend next year’s event.

But European fans will be pleased about Lowry’s comments. It does appear that the idea of getting paid is not something that the current holders are going to be pushing for anytime soon.