Luke Donald has revealed that Staff Europe’s gamers rejected any risk of getting paid to function on the Ryder Cup, regardless of Staff USA receiving a price to function at Bethpage Black.
The PGA of America introduced final 12 months that American gamers would obtain $500,000 to signify Staff USA on the Ryder Cup, with $300,000 (£222,000) donated to a charity of their selection and a $200,000 (£144,000) ‘stipend’ to spend how they need.
This week’s occasion in New York marks the primary time in Ryder Cup historical past that the extra cost might be provided to American gamers, with the pay-to-play debate dominating early build-up to the biennial contest.
Rory McIlroy has beforehand acknowledged he would “pay for the privilege to play” within the Ryder Cup, with Donald ‘proud’ of his European gamers for his or her method on whether or not they need to be financially rewarded for taking part in.
“This [payment] came up and I wanted to get ahead of it and talk to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the US were going to do something different with payments,” Donald advised Sky Sports activities.
“Each one in all them was identical to ‘we do not wish to receives a commission – this is not per week to receives a commission’. We’ve got such a robust function on this crew and what we play for.
“To be trustworthy, we reinvest a few of that cash again into the expertise of those guys. I really feel like if in case you have these experiences that you simply bear in mind for the remainder of your life, that is price greater than a pair hundred thousand {dollars} behind your pocket.
“For me, I was very proud of the guys. The ideals of how this Ryder Cup was set up back in the 1920s by Samuel Ryder and I think he would have been proud too.”
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Andrew Coltart, Dame Laura Davies and David Howell talk about Staff USA’s determination to pay its Ryder Cup gamers for participation on this 12 months’s match
Bradley: ‘A variety of good goes to come back from this’
A $200k charitable donation has been allotted to every American Ryder Cup participant since 1999, when Tiger Woods, Mark O’Meara and David Duval had been amongst these to query how earnings constituted of the Ryder Cup had been dispersed and whether or not a price needs to be given.
That determine has remained the identical ever since and is lower than the $250k given to gamers from each groups on the Presidents Cup – run by the PGA Tour – final September, with Bradley supporting the change and backing his gamers to make use of the elevated cash for good.
Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley addressed the media on Monday forward of the Ryder Cup in New York
“I’m not concerned about what Europe does or what they think,” Bradley insisted. “I’m concerned about what my team is doing. I was tasked with a job the PGA of America asked me to do, and this was what we decided.
“We wished to convey the Ryder Cup into at present’s age and we felt like this was one of the best ways to do it. We copied a variety of what the Presidents Cup does. We did the perfect we may, and I believe a variety of good goes to come back from this. I believe the gamers are going to do a variety of good with this cash, and I believe it is nice.”
The change, which has divided opinion, comes when players are playing for huge prize purses and in a year where tickets are at a record high, with prices starting at $750 – including food and soft drinks – for each of the competition days.
“I do not actually get that [bad optics],” Bradley added. “I believe the objective right here was that the charity {dollars} hadn’t been raised in 25, 26 years and that is what we began out doing.
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Will Luke Donald lead Staff Europe to a historic Ryder Cup victory over Staff USA at Bethpage Black? Watch this 12 months’s contest reside from September 26-28 on Sky Sports activities Golf
“We did a lot of what the Presidents Cup did and these players are going to do the right thing and do a lot of really good with this money. I think that the players are really good people and are going to do a lot of good things.”
When is the Ryder Cup reside on Sky Sports activities?
There might be prolonged reside protection from on daily basis of Ryder Cup week, the place Staff Europe look to regain the trophy with a historic away win in america.
Round the clock protection of the opening day’s play will start with reside build-up from 9am on Friday September 26, forward of full protection from noon and the opening tee shot at 12.10pm. Not obtained Sky? Get Sky Sports activities or stream with no contract on NOW.
