FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley pushed again in opposition to the notion that the competitors means extra to Europe now that the U.S. group is ready to be compensated for the occasion by the PGA of America whereas the Europeans is not going to obtain a private monetary reward.
“I do not actually get that,” Bradley stated throughout Monday’s information convention. “I feel the purpose right here was that the charity {dollars} hadn’t been raised in 25, 26 years, and that is what we began out doing.”
Bradley stated the PGA of America approached him with the thought of compensating gamers and requested him to assist provide you with the very best strategy. Final November, the PGA of America voted to provide the 12 gamers and Bradley $300,000 to donate to a charity of their choice and a $200,000 stipend.
Bradley stated he’ll donate all of his compensation to charity.
“[PGA of America] needed to convey the Ryder Cup into the current day. The charity {dollars} hadn’t modified since 1999,” Bradley stated. “And so they requested me to kind of shepherd their means into making it into 2025.”
In December, U.S. group member Xander Schauffele informed The Related Press that, regardless of the brand new construction, the plan was for gamers to not get a single dime.
“I simply see it as a complete lot of cash going to charity, and we will take numerous crap,” Schauffele informed the AP.
When Bradley was requested Monday whether or not the remainder of the group was additionally donating their total funds to charity, he was reluctant to elaborate.
“I feel, for everybody, it is a private choice,” Bradley stated. “A number of guys aren’t comfy sharing what they are going to do with their cash, however we will donate. I do not donate to charities to publicize what we’re doing. These guys on our group are unbelievable individuals, and so they do numerous unbelievable issues with charity {dollars} and with their foundations.”
Forward of this week, European group captain Luke Donald was requested by British media whether or not the ambiance at Bethpage Black may flip bitter given the context of American gamers being paid.
“Everyone knows how excessive the ticket costs are, and it should be an costly journey out for a household of 4,” Donald stated. “If the U.S. gamers are getting paid a stipend, or no matter it’s, and so they aren’t performing, the New Yorkers could make them know about it.”
Donald, who additionally captained the Europeans to their 2023 win in Rome, stated that when he was knowledgeable about potential U.S. participant compensation final 12 months, he needed to get forward of it and reached out to European gamers to ask for his or her ideas.
“Everybody was like, ‘We have not even thought of taking part in for cash for that occasion,'” Donald stated. “We now have an awesome goal, and that is actually sufficient for us. … A few hundred thousand {dollars} to those guys is not some huge cash within the grand scheme of issues.
“These weeks of the Ryder Cup, they’re the very best weeks. There’s a lot extra to them. We actually do not want any motivation or financial rewards to get us up.”
When pressed on the completely different approaches between the 2 groups, Bradley reiterated Monday that he believes his gamers will “do the correct factor.”
“I am not involved about what Europe does or what they assume. I am involved about what my group is doing,” Bradley stated. “We copied numerous what the Presidents Cup does. We did the very best we may. You possibly can say [it means more to Europe], however I feel that the gamers are actually good individuals and are going to do numerous good issues.”
The occasion begins Friday. The Europeans are vying to be the primary group to win the Ryder Cup on away soil since they did it in 2012 at Medinah Nation Membership.
