Rory McIlroy has said he would “pay to be in the Ryder Cup” in response to the news that the American team are set to collectively receive almost £4 million for next year’s match in New York.
Telegraph Sport exclusively revealed on Wednesday that almost 100 years of tradition will be broken under PGA of America proposals to reward each player with a $400,000 (£315,000) fee at Bethpage.
And McIlroy, the world No. 3, said members of the European team have already decided that if they follow suit it could affect the unity of their famous team.
“We had a conversation with Luke [Donald, European captain] about it after we heard about it and the common consensus is that, I don’t want to say it taints the Ryder Cup, but it would give it a different feel,” he said. “We’ve done a really good job as a really cohesive collective group over the last decade and we wouldn’t want anything to change that. I think the money coming in would really change the dynamic of what we have.
“Look, personally, I would pay for the privilege of playing in the Ryder Cup. The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and part of that is due to the purity of no money. Honestly, I don’t think any of the 24 players on either team need that $400,000, because of the millions we’re playing for. In two years there are 104 weeks and 103 weeks where you can play golf and get paid. The one you don’t do. I’d say that’s pretty reasonable.
McIlroy was keen to stress that he “understands both sides of the debate”. He added: “And I’m not criticizing at all because if the Ryder Cup generates between $100 million and $200 million in revenue, you would think that the talent should probably have their share,” he added. But he warned the home team it could damage its reputation, especially after controversy over ticket prices, the cheapest for the three-day fight is $750.
“Obviously there have been discussions about high ticket prices…. And if the PGA of America seeks to make more money from the Ryder Cup or players start getting paid, that will ultimately come from people paying to watch the event,” he said. “So it’s a double-edged sword. I understand, but I don’t think it makes us seem very relatable to the average person.
“I have never heard a European say that we should be paid”
McIlroy’s view nicely sums up the attitude of the big European names playing at the Earth Course in Abu Dhabi during the DP World Tour’s end-of-season championship. “It’s not something I would worry about,” Tommy Fleetwood said. “Pay me nothing or pay me £10 million to play in the Ryder Cup – I’ll still play. In fact, I’d probably pay to play it. I don’t think it will change the dynamic [if the US are paid and the Europeans are not] to the match at all. I have never heard anyone say in the European teamroom or elsewhere that we should be paid. Never. It’s just not something we had thought about.
This contrasts sharply with the opposition. Rumors within the US team emerged at the end of the last century when the likes of Tiger Woods and David Duval raised objections that hundreds of millions had been raked in with no reward for the competitors. Since then, $200,000 per player has been donated to charity, but dissent has persisted, with Patrick Cantlay accused last year of staging a protest by not wearing the team cap.
If the plans are ratified at board level – and it is expected that they will be passed and American players will be paid directly into their bank accounts – then Sir Nick Faldo, the six-time major champion who is second on the all-time points scorer list, believes the visitors will occupy the moral high ground.
“If a few members of the American team feel that being paid is what they need to give 100 percent for their team, so be it,” Faldo told Telegraph Sport. “For me, leaving the team room with my comrades with the simple mission of winning a point for our team meant that no further motivation was needed.”
“There is no better memory for me than fighting at the 1995 Ryder Cup to win a crucial point for my team, far greater than thinking I was being rewarded for my efforts.”
This problem overshadowed the first round of the Race to Dubai final. McIlroy shot a 6-under 67 to share the lead with England’s Tyrrell Hatton, with last week’s winner Paul Waring one shot behind. McIlroy seems all but assured of winning his sixth money list crown. Only Thriston Lawrence can stop the Northern Irishman, but the South African – who needs a win and for McIlroy to finish outside the top 11 – shot one-over 73.