Rory McIlroy has said he would be willing to pay to play in the Ryder Cup after it was revealed that members of the U.S. team could earn $400,000 (£315,000) each for their participation in next year’s event in New York. McIlroy feels that offering money to players could harm the “purity” of the competition, which is traditionally seen as an event driven by passion and national pride, not financial incentives.
Under pressure from top players, the PGA of America is considering breaking tradition by paying the 12 U.S. team members from a $5 million fund. However, no such plan is being discussed for the European team, and McIlroy, one of Europe’s top players, is fully in favor of this stance.
“I personally would pay for the privilege to play in the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said. “I’ve come a long way in this, especially with the Olympics, but the two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and Olympics, partly because no money is involved.”
McIlroy acknowledges that the Ryder Cup generates significant revenue and understands the argument for compensating players, but he insists that the essence of the event is not about money. He said, “It’s one of the top five biggest sporting events in the world, so I get the argument that the talent could be getting paid.” However, McIlroy emphasizes that the Ryder Cup holds greater value, especially for Europeans, due to its deep connection with the sport’s tradition and identity.
“The Ryder Cup is so much more than that, especially to the Europeans and this tour,” McIlroy explained. “We’ve all had a conversation about it with Luke [Donald, the European captain], because we obviously heard [about the Americans], and the common consensus is that the $5 million paid to the team would be better spent on the DP World Tour to support other events and even the Challenge Tour.
For us, it would give the event a different feel. What we’ve done very well over the last decade is maintain a cohesive group, and we wouldn’t want anything to change that.”
Though McIlroy understands the reasoning behind the payment to U.S. players, he questions whether it’s really necessary. “I don’t think any of the 24 players on either team needs the $400,000,” McIlroy stated. “Every two years, we play and there are 104 weeks between the events, and for 103 of them, you can play golf and get paid. That seems reasonable enough.”
McIlroy added, “If you go back to the purity aspect, paying the players would make the competition seem a little less pure. But it wouldn’t change anything from a European perspective. We would all welcome the money if it didn’t change the dynamic of what we have, but I think it would change the dynamic.”
The Ryder Cup, which will take place at Bethpage in New York next September, has already faced criticism due to high ticket prices, with some tickets costing $750 per day. McIlroy admits that this issue will bring a new layer to the conversation, especially now that players might benefit from the event’s growing revenue.
“It makes us look very unrelatable to the average person on the street because of how much money is being pumped into the game,” McIlroy said. “But at the same time, that’s not our fault. There are people willing to pay what they are willing to pay, and we are fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”
McIlroy also acknowledged that there are two sides to the issue. “I’m not criticizing at all because if the Ryder Cup generates $100-200 million in revenue, you would think the talent should get a piece of that,” he said.
“That’s not the way it has been, and as Europeans, we don’t want to change because of how good it has been the last few years. But it’s reasonable that if you put on an event that generates so much revenue, some of it should go back to the talent. That hasn’t been the case with the Ryder Cup, and that would be a massive change.”
McIlroy made these comments in Dubai, where he shot a 67 to tie for the lead with Tyrrell Hatton after the first round of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
