Ryder Cup money for the American players is about good charity and bad optics

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — The Americans have become an easy target for Europe at this Ryder Cup, and it has nothing to do with how they have been outplayed over the last 30 years.

It's about how much they're getting paid.

Never mind that no American player has indicated plans to stuff their pockets already full from a PGA Tour schedule that offers $20 million purses at 10 tournaments, the $25 million prize fund at The Players Championship and official money of $40 million at the Tour Championship.

Or that the PGA of America has been “paying” Ryder Cup players since 1999 — from the millions of dollars of revenue they generate — by providing $200,000 for them to direct to a charity of their choosing.

The change this year was $300,000 for a charity and a $200,000 stipend to use however the players want. That's the definition of compensation, even when it becomes charity.

U.S. captain Keegan Bradley took credit for that.

“The PGA of America came to me, they wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into the present day. 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.

Bradley said he was donating all of it, and his players have said they are doing the same without providing details. Charity can be personal when the heart is in the right place.

“I’ve never been one to announce what we do," Scottie Scheffler said Tuesday. "I don’t like to give charitable dollars for some kind 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.”

Scheffler has made nearly $57 million in official money the last two years. He's not exactly driven by a whopping $200,000 stipend.

This was always about principle. David Duval was among the first to raise the notion in 1999 about how much revenue the PGA of America was raking in from the Ryder Cup and why the players didn't have more input where it went.

And while Rory McIlroy is fond of saying the two purest forms of competition — the Ryder Cup and Olympics — don't offer prize money, that would be turning a blind eye to how the organizations running them cash in.

Yes, there are sponsors. That's the lifeblood of golf.

The Ryder Cup also has a commercial deal with Sugarlands Distilling Company, which has been designated the “Official Moonshine of the 2025 Ryder Cup.”

There is an official champagne and an official vodka, an official beer and an official bourbon. It's a long list.

Not to be overlooked is the “Ryder Cup Live Ultimate Watch Party Kit” that goes for $1,081 and provides such items as 100 cocktail napkins, coasters, commemorative cups and flag toothpicks. Also in the kit are a pair of “Quiet, Please” paddles. Party on.

The uncomfortable talk about major golf and minor compensation did not start this year, or even two years ago in Rome when Patrick Cantlay was the subject of an unfounded report that he didn't wear a hat to protest not being paid.

There is speculation. There are accusations. But no one has confirmed any player on the U.S. team who asked to be paid, or even asked for an increase in charity.

Several U.S. players began to question what percentage of the revenue went to prize funds after the USGA signed a television deal worth close to $1 billion with Fox Sports. The U.S. Open purse increased by $1 million.

But it's still money. Golf is loaded with it at the moment. It's always a bad look.

Europe really doesn't need an edge — it has won 10 of the last 14 times dating to 1995 — but it looks for any it can find. And the Europeans didn't have to look too far for this one.

“I personally would pay for the privilege to play in the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said to BBC Sport last year after hearing early reports of a payment plan for the Americans. It wasn't long before others chimed in, including the captain as recently as two weeks ago.

“If the U.S. players are getting paid, and they aren't performing, the New Yorkers could make them know about it,” Luke Donald told British reporters.

That's what happened in 1999 at Brookline when Ryder Cup money first surfaced. The Americans fell behind and the Boston gallery let them have it, until they staged a stunning comeback on the final day and it became pandemonium.

No telling what will happen at Bethpage Black, except that it will be loud. The topic of money becomes low-hanging fruit. Xander Schauffele saw this coming when the pay plan was announced at the end of last year.

"I just see it as a whole lot of money going to charity and we’re going to take a lot of crap,” Schauffele said.

He said Tuesday there is great pride in playing in the Ryder Cup, and while he's happy to get compensated, he will be donating it all. As for the bad optics?

“You guys keep talking about it and trying to make it this negative thing. It’s whatever everyone views it as,” he said. “I try to look at this in the most positive of lights as possible: An opportunity to do some good, which isn’t always the case.”

Two teams are different in many ways. The PGA of America owns the Ryder Cup. It pays the PGA Tour 20% of the TV contract — an estimated $11 million a year — to secure releases for the tour players to take part in the matches.

When in Rome — or anywhere else in Europe — the event is managed by Ryder Cup Europe, which is 60% owned by the European Tour Group. The profit goes a long way toward supporting the European Tour.

In that respect, perhaps a case could be made the European players were compensated two years ago at Marco Simone, and all the money went to a charity — the European Tour.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf