U.S. Ryder Cup players will be paid, with the majority of the money going to charity
Xander Schauffele said he would donate the full $500,000 he is receiving to charity. Credit: Dawn McCormick
For the first time in Ryder Cup history, American golfers are getting paid.
Each of the 12 U.S. players and captain Keegan Bradley will receive $500,000: $300,000 toward a charity of their choice and a $200,000 stipend.
Whether they should be compensated — and what each player will do with the stipend — has been a major talking point.
The PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup on American soil, approached Bradley with the idea, he said Monday at Bethpage Black. He will donate the entire $500,000 to charity. Beginning In 1999, American players were given $200,000 each at U.S. based Ryder Cups to donate to charity.
“The charity dollars hadn't changed since 1999, and they asked me to sort of shepherd their way into making it into 2025,” he said. “I think for everyone it's a personal decision. A lot of guys aren't comfortable sharing what they're going to do with their money, but we're going to donate.”
He added: “I think the players are going to do a lot of good with this money, and I think it's great.”
When asked about it Tuesday, three days before the Ryder Cup begins, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said he is “excited to be able to take this money and be able to do some good” in his Dallas community.
“My wife and I, we like to do a lot of stuff in our local community and I've never been one to announce what we do,” he said. “I don't like to give charitable dollars for some sort of recognition. We have something planned for the money that we'll be receiving. I think it's a really cool thing that the PGA of America has empowered us to do.”
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay each said they plan to donate the full $500,000.
European golfers do not get paid to play in the Ryder Cup, and captain Luke Donald told Sky Sports on Monday that his players were not interested in being compensated.
Said Donald: “I feel like if you have those experiences that you remember for the rest of your life, that’s worth more than a couple hundred thousand dollars in the back of your pocket.”
Weather forces changes
The forecast of inclement weather has caused a change in this week’s Ryder Cup schedule.
The opening ceremony now will take place at 4 p.m. Wednesday. It originally was scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday.
Fans with Ryder Cup+ tickets for Thursday can attend on both Wednesday and Thursday.
U.S. captain Keegan Bradley and European captain Luke Donald still will announce Friday morning’s pairings at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
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