Former US Ryder Cup captains, reportedly including Tom Watson, have launched an unprecedented alliance against the plan to pay players to compete, with at least 12 of them signing a letter addressed to the PGA of America against this proposal.
Telegraph sport revealed last month that Team USA is in the running to receive £4 million collectively for next year’s showdown in New York after drawing up proposals to end the $200,000 charitable donation for each player and instead give them $400,000 (£315,000) each. Earlierr this month, Tiger Woods announced that he supported the idea, as long as it all goes to charity.
But America’s former captains – who, besides Watson, the five-time Open champion, would include Ben Crenshaw and Tom Lehman – have rallied in opposition. Sports Illustrated reported that a dozen of them signed a letter to the PGA of America demanding that the proposal be dropped before next year’s match at Bethpage Black.
The campaign for American players to be compensated was sparked again in Italy last year when Patrick Cantlay was accused of not wearing an American cap in protest – something he always denied – and European fans responded by waving their own hats and ridiculing the inscrutable Californian. .
Stefan Schauffele, the father of this year’s Open winner and world number 2 Xander, who is also Cantlay’s playing partner and close friend, called for “the players to have a share of the profits”. It wasn’t really a new debate.
The issue also became a topic of discussion during Crenshaw’s tenure as United States captain in 1999, after reports of a possible boycott. “My opinion is that no one should be paid to play for our country and the Ryder Cup,” Crenshaw said. Sports Illustrated last week.
“The deal that was done from 1999 was that players would receive money for their foundations, which in turn would go to charity, and that was something we all agreed on. My position has never changed, nor will it change, even if the game has changed.
“I don’t know if that’s what the current players want. I hope not and that they will be satisfied with the money given to their charities. After all, I believe it is necessary to honor all the Ryder Cup participants who have come before us and who have proudly represented our country and the PGA of America.
On the other hand, Team Europe confirmed that they had no immediate plans to compensate their players with big names, saying they were happy to represent the continent purely out of “passion”. In the wake of Telegraph exclusive, Rory McIlroy went so far as to declare that he would “pay for the privilege of playing the Ryder Cup”.
