The economics of the Ryder Cup don’t put a polish on perceptions
Join the Club by John Patrick
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Perhaps you’ve heard, the game of golf, and the Ryder Cup by extension, has a bit of a reputation for being played by rich, older white men interested in making more money.
Apparently, that reputation, while not completely inaccurate, is not altogether true. It appears that the game is also played by rich, YOUNGER white men who just want to make more money.
Which brings me to the Ryder Cup. I don’t know if you’ve heard what’s been taking place over the last few weeks regarding the 2025 Ryder Cup. It appears that the PGA of America, the organization that owns and runs the Ryder Cup, decided that charging $750 for daily tickets on Friday, Saturday and Sunday would fly under the radar.
It didn’t.
Want to go to the practice rounds? Tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday are $255 and a ticket for the Thursday practice round plus the opening ceremony is $750. I guess it’s the PGA’s idea of a BOGO deal.
That being said, the PGA of America announced last week that tickets had sold out for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Good for them. That will earn them a lot of money. Then, because the good news just keeps on coming, came the reports that each member of the American team would be paid $400,000 for competing. That’s $4.8 million dollars for the 12 team members.
This is a bad look. Plain and simple. It certainly left the team, and the idea of it, the tournament, and what it represents open to criticism.
Here is what Rory McIlroy had to say when he heard the news.
“I personally would PAY for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup.”
Ouch.
“The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics,” he told the BBC. “And it’s partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved.” Ooh.
Rory went on to say that he understands the “other side of it” because of the amount of money being made on the event. Did I mention the $750 daily tickets? According to reports, the consensus of Team Europe was to donate and honorarium its members receive to the DP World Tour for other purposes.
Game, set, and match to the Europeans.
None of the 12 players chosen for the Ryder Cup team really need the $400,000 and I must believe they realize that asking for and getting the money makes them look, well, entitled and greedy. I also have to believe they don’t care. Why? Because that’s just not the kind of thing rich, entitled, and greedy guys – older or younger – care about.