Play for pay at Presidents and Ryder Cups? Stipends are the new charitable contribution at Presidents Cup — and Ryder Cup may not be far behind

MONTREAL – Money makes nan world spell round. Over nan past fewer years, we’ve seen each excessively good really greed is harming golf. It’s infiltrated nan Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup too, squad events wherever location is nary purse.

Golfweek has learned that nan 24 players and 9 captains who participated successful nan Presidents Cup past period received a “stipend” of $250,000 that they tin do pinch arsenic they please. That is simply a departure from erstwhile decades erstwhile nan competitors were not paid for their participation, but each competitor allocated an adjacent information of nan costs generated to charities of his choice.

“As portion of nan Tour’s wide full compensation program, distributions for nan Presidents Cup person been adjusted to bespeak nan changing scenery of charitable giving, allowing players and captains nan elasticity to support their respective foundations aliases individual charitable priorities,” nan Tour said successful a connection to Golfweek.

According to nan Tour, $56.4 cardinal has been donated from arena proceeds since nan inception of nan Presidents Cup successful 1994, including a guarantee of astatine slightest $1 cardinal to nan big tract (since 2022). That’s thing to sneeze astatine but successful past years, nan PGA Tour proudly boasted of nan charitable contributions made by nan players. As precocious arsenic 2019, nan arena media guideline listed nan kindness and aid magnitude fixed by each individual subordinate making love to 1994 – including really Tiger Woods gave to nan Tiger Woods Learning Center and later simply to nan Tiger Woods Foundation, Mike Weir to nan Notah Begay Foundation, Fred Couples to nan Frank Sinatra Foundation, Ernie Els to Els for Autism, Webb Simpson and Bill Haas to Wake Forest Athletics and Justin Thomas, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed among players who gave to nan American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).

When I couldn’t find that accusation readily disposable this time, I inquired pinch nan media relations unit reasoning it would make a bully communicative – how astir that Scottie Scheffler, what a swell feline he is. Turned retired I stumbled connected a bigger communicative successful that Presidents Cup squad members – including captains and adjunct captains – nary longer are mandated to make a charitable aid (although those spoken to by Golfweek claimed they still would do so).

Prior to 2022, each player, skipper and captain’s adjunct received $150,000 to springiness to a charity/charities of their choice. Starting successful 2022, players and captains person $250,000 of which they are capable to usage arsenic they spot fresh and are not required to disclose really aliases wherever they nonstop nan funds. According to aggregate members of Team USA, this determination was made to unburden nan Tour from having to coordinate and reimburse each of nan recreation expenses for nan support teams – coaches, trainers, family, etc. – and put nan onus backmost connected nan subordinate to make nan arrangements retired of their stipend. But that stipend has grown to $250,000, adjacent to apical 10 money astatine nan Zozo Championship past week aliases nan aforesaid arsenic No. 31 (Brian Harman) received successful FedEx Cup prize money. An other $100K should screen expenses and time off a bully chunk of alteration to springiness much to charity.

Does this alteration person thing to do pinch nan threat of LIV Golf and players having much leverage? The timing of nan alteration – up of nan 2022 Presidents Cup and during nan emergence of LIV Golf – fits nan timeline of erstwhile nan apical pros received a number of concessions initiated to clasp their loyalty –and this apt was an easy 1 to beryllium rubber stamped by elder guidance without reaching nan committee level. Adding to nan suspicion: It was a alteration that went unspoken.

The PGA Tour didn’t supply answers to a fistful of circumstantial questions but did nonstop a statement. Over nan past 25 years, nan Presidents Cup has impacted much than 475 charities successful 18 countries worldwide. With galore of nan Tour players choosing to support charities successful their section communities, nan Tour promised to springiness backmost a definite magnitude to nan section community.

“The charitable ngo of nan Presidents Cup remains unchanged,” the Tour said successful a written statement. “The existent charitable distribution scheme guarantees a lasting effect successful nan big metropolis aliases region of astatine slightest $1 million,” said Matt Rapp, nan Tour’s Senior Vice President, Championship Management, which runs nan Presidents Cup among respective salient Tour events.

In 2022, nan Presidents Cup totaled an wide charitable publication of $2 cardinal pinch nan mostly directed to section Charlotte-based non-profit organizations, highlighted by $575,000 towards nan Charlotte Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative (MREI). (The Presidents Cup earlier this twelvemonth made a charitable aid of $100,000 to nan Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.)

The connection continued: “As portion of nan Tour’s wide full compensation program, distributions for nan Presidents Cup person been adjusted to bespeak nan changing scenery of charitable giving, allowing players and captains nan elasticity to support their respective foundations aliases individual charitable priorities.”

Left unclear is who initiated this summation from $200,000 to $250,000 and nan alteration to a stipend wherever nan players technically don’t person to springiness immoderate of it to charity. Are sponsors specified arsenic Cognizant and Rolex alert that it is nary longer a request for each competitor to allocate an adjacent information of nan costs generated to charities of his choice? And what effect will this alteration person connected nan Ryder Cup? At nan Presidents Cup, Golf.com’s Nick Piastkowski asked respective players during their allotted property conference whether players should beryllium compensated for their information successful nan biennial events.

“That mobility is simply a spot of a grenade, to beryllium honest,” Xander Schauffele said. “I deliberation there’s nary spot for a subordinate to talk astir prize money successful this benignant of event. That’s for different group to decide. Our penchant is our preference. We’re present and we’re happy to play amongst each different and correspond our country.

“It’s specified a basking topic, but I deliberation it’s beautiful sadistic to inquire immoderate subordinate that because there’s nary correct reply a subordinate tin springiness you.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really spent overmuch clip reasoning astir it,” Max Homa said. “I could play devil’s advocator to both. One, for illustration these events make a ton of money and we are connected TV playing nan golf. But connected nan different broadside of nan coin, I deliberation we person been fixed truthful overmuch arsenic master golfers and to get to do this is astir arsenic nosy arsenic you’ll ever have. So to do it for free is besides fine.

“I get everyone’s constituent of view. I don’t deliberation it should ever really beryllium a hot-button topic. I don’t deliberation it’s nan extremity of nan world either way. I get why there’s — why it tin go a talking point. I conscionable don’t deliberation that it’s a monolithic rumor either way.”

It surely became a hot-button taxable astatine nan astir caller Ryder Cup. For Rome, which hosted successful 2023, U.S. players received $200,000 to donate to charities of their choice. With prices skyrocketing for tickets to $750 connected nan play astatine Bethpage Black for nan 2025 edition, it begs nan mobility of what does that mean for nan player’s cut? A PGA of America charismatic said that it is “currently reviewing that programme and an announcement would beryllium made earlier nan opening of nan year.”

Golfweek has learned that nan fig is expected to emergence and astatine slightest lucifer and perchance apical nan magnitude fixed to players successful nan Presidents Cup. In addition, sources opportunity that nan magnitude will go a stipend arsenic good alternatively than a nonstop costs to a kindness of nan player’s choice. The play-for-pay statement heated up astatine past year’s Ryder Cup erstwhile it was reported that Patrick Cantlay refused to deterioration a Team USA chapeau successful protest. Cantlay has many times stated that this had thing to do pinch him playing hatless and that he is proud to correspond his state and move each of his power into winning points for his team.

Schauffele’s father, Stefan, was nan astir outspoken successful addressing these increasing concerns that while it is simply a romanticist conception that these squad competitions person nary purse and nan players are playing for state and pride, there’s a competing consciousness of nan players being exploited arsenic nan events person go tremendous rate cows for nan non-profit associations.

“If they make profit disconnected this and finance their statement of almost 29,000 [PGA of America] members for 4 years pinch nan proceeds earned connected nan backs of these guys here, well, past they should stock aliases they shouldn’t beryllium allowed to do that,” Stefan told reporters successful Rome.

The Ryder Cup charitable contributions began 25 years agone aft a subordinate protestation became nationalist astatine nan 1999 British Open. After overmuch statement astir really nan Ryder Cup profits were disbursed, players received $100,000. Several salient American players, including Mark O’Meara and Payne Stewart, indicated they had concerns astir what was happening to nan millions of dollars generated by an arena that has go a 5th awesome championship. O’Meara based on that players should beryllium paid much than what was a $5,000 recreation stipend astatine nan clip for nan event.

In an Aug. 11, 1999 communicative successful the Washington Post, Tiger Woods said: “I would like to see america person immoderate nan magnitude is, whether it’s $200,000, $300,000, $400,000, $500,000 and I deliberation we should beryllium able to keep nan money and do immoderate we spot fit. I personally would donate all of it to charity. With each nan money that’s being made, we should person a opportunity successful wherever it goes.”

Woods, who is now connected nan Tour’s committee of board and was nan skipper of nan 2019 Presidents Cup squad (and surely successful statement to beryllium Ryder Cup whenever he sees it), is yet getting what he ever wanted.

U.S. squad personnel Tony Finau said he would still beryllium designating his stipend to kindness done nan Tony Finau Foundation. “Almost each of it minus my expenses to get there,” he said. Finau’s instauration improves nan lives of soul metropolis kids successful Salt Lake City. Finau, who is an advocator for literacy, said proceeds from being a personnel of nan U.S. broadside astatine 5 of nan past six Cups helped his instauration money nan opening of a literate halfway successful August and prosecute a coach who is offering ESL classes.

Stewart Cink, who served arsenic a U.S. adjunct captain, said his instauration splits its financial giving betwixt a neo-natal intensive attraction portion and bosom crab halfway successful Gwinnett County, a suburb of Atlanta wherever he lives, and a ministry.

“We’re successful it for babies and mamas,” he said. “To beryllium a portion of thing for illustration this and cognize it’s a kindness arena and successful nan extremity nan winners are nan communities and Montreal. It conscionable reinforces really awesome a crippled play is.”

Patrick Cantlay has made inferior play successful Southern California 1 of his foundation’s apical priority, underwriting 4 elite tournaments including a finale astatine Virginia Country Club, wherever he grew up. He besides supports assemblage scholarships via nan First Responders Children Foundation.

Jason Day said he would springiness 100 percent of his stipend to Brighter Days Foundation, nan instauration he started pinch his wife, Ellie, which benefits nan likes of Habitat for Humanity, Blessings successful a Backpack and nan Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. Only South Korean Tom Kim said he didn’t person a circumstantial kindness he supported.

Is it still meticulous to opportunity that players aren’t paid to participate successful nan squad competitions? That’s much of a grey area than ever but 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup skipper Keegan Bradley whitethorn person provided nan truest remark of all.

“Whether it was for a batch of money aliases nary money, we would show up,” he said.