Rory McIlroy has declared he would pay to play for Team Europe in the Ryder Cup following the news Team USA players are set to pocket $400,000 each for their participation in 2025.
The news comes after Patrick Cantlay made waves during the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, where Europe clinched victory, by refusing to don the American team cap in an apparent protest over the lack of player compensation.
Now, with the PGA of America agreeing to dish out a whopping $4.8million among Keegan Bradley’s squad, McIlroy weighed in on the issue after tying for the lead at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai with a stellar five-under 67.
Speaking to BBC Sport, McIlroy said the Ryder Cup and the Olympics are the two most genuine forms of competition in golf, untainted by financial incentives.
“I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup,” he said. “I don’t think any of the 24 players on either team needs that 400 grand. Every two years, there are 104 weeks and 103 weeks you can play golf and get paid.”
This stance arrives amid a surge in prize funds in men’s professional golf, spurred by the controversial, cash-rich LIV Golf series backed by Saudi Arabia.
At the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, European fans cheekily doffed their caps to mock Cantlay amidst his revenue share grievance. The 2023 Ryder Cup brought in a hefty $11.8 million from a massive turnover of $136.6 million.
While McIlroy acknowledges the sizeable financial appeal of the Ryder Cup, he insists that introducing payment would undermine the event’s ethos.
Indeed, McIlroy shared that neither he nor his fellow team-mates in Europe captain Luke Donald’s camp desire any remuneration. “I think we would all welcome money if it didn’t change the dynamic but the money really would change the dynamic,” voiced McIlroy.
“That’s why I think everyone is like, let’s not do that.”
Meanwhile, Tyrrell Hatton, a LIV Golf headliner currently pacing with McIlroy in Dubai, expressed: “The next 10 months I’ll be trying my best to be on that team. The US lads, it’s up to them. I’m on the European team and I would love to be there at Bethpage.”
Money remains a hot topic leading up to next year’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage, which has drawn mixed reactions from fans as tickets have sold out despite hitting an unprecedented $750 each.
