Money controversy rattled the Ryder Cup. Will it hit the Presidents Cup?

MONTREAL — Twenty-four Presidents Cup golfers, all of whom receive prize money most every other week, won’t collect a cent this week upon conclusion of play at Royal Montreal. It says so right there on the website of the event’s backer, the PGA Tour, under “Frequently Asked Questions,” where the first one simply asks: “What is the Presidents Cup?” 

Here’s that answer:

“The Presidents Cup is a biennial global team competition between the United States and an International team that represents the rest of the world excluding Europe. The competition alternates between venues in the U.S. and overseas. The Presidents Cup is a unique golf event in that there is no purse or prize money. Players are not paid for their participation, but each competitor allocates an equal portion of the funds generated to charities of his choice. Since the inception of the Presidents Cup in 1994, more than $56.4 million has been generated from event proceeds. Over the past 25 years, the Presidents Cup has impacted more than 475 charities in 18 countries worldwide. Cognizant and Rolex are the exclusive Global Partners of the Presidents Cup.”

That answer, though, raises another question:

Should players be paid?

In short, it depends on whom you ask. Most recently, the topic surfaced at the last men’s pro golf team event, the Ryder Cup, where last September thoughts were shared and hats weren’t worn. Though not new, the issue picked up steam on the competition’s second day, when Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir reported that Patrick Cantlay was wanting to get paid, that he was refusing to wear a hat in protest and that the U.S. locker room was fractured. From there, things snowballed. U.S. players balked at the report. Fans at Marco Simone, the host site, mockingly waved their own caps. A day later, Stefan Schauffele, the father of American Xander Schauffele, spoke at length about it all to GOLF’s Dylan Dethier, saying, “They can donate all proceeds after opening the books to a charity of our joint choice, and then we will happily play for free. Please print that.”

In the months since, the conversation has continued. Notably, the governing bodies of the Ryder Cup — the PGA of America on the U.S. side, and the DP World Tour on the European side — collect millions from the event and distribute the cash to their various events and programs, with players given charitable donations of $200,000 apiece. (It’s here where you should read another wonderfully reported story, by GOLF’s Jessica Marksbury, on Ryder Cup money.) One notable observer, Paul McGinley, who played in four Ryder Cups for the European side and captained another, believed that was plenty, offering more than a three-minute thought on the subject, on an appearance last October on the Five Clubs podcast, where host Gary Williams asked McGinley this:

“The whiff of compensation, it’s not new. You can go back to the late ’90s, obviously [Mark] O’Meara, [David] Duval. Do you think compensation will be part of the story at least on the American side by 2025? And do you think the Europeans will absolutely pass on the idea of getting paid?”

In response, McGinley said no, the Americans alone should not be paid — nor should any Ryder Cupper.

“Personally, I hope it gets to a place where neither team is paid because I think the money that top professional golfers earn at the moment is huge on so many different levels,” said McGinley, who’s at Royal Montreal this week as part of Golf Channel’s coverage. “They’re all set up for life, no matter what. Once you make a Ryder Cup standard nowadays, you’re set up for life anyway, whether it be through your pension fund or whether it be in the prize money you’ve earned. I think for one tournament every two years it would be great to give back. 

“On the European side, the DP World Tour needs the revenue from the Ryder Cup. So it’s helping all of the guys who are coming through. It’s putting events on the Challenge Tour. It’s putting on decent prize funds on the DP World Tour. And that’s really important for us. It’s a lifeline for us. And on the American side, it’s the 28,000 PGA pros around America and giving money to them so that they can bring young boys and girls into the game and create the future Patrick Cantlays or future Justin Thomases or whatever. A huge amount of investment goes back into it. 

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“So I think both sides are honorable in terms of what they’re trying to do with the revenues that come in. It’s not like some rich private equity company is taking the money and running off into the sunset and giving it to shareholders. This is money that’s going back on both sides back into the game. It’s going back into the ecosystem on both sides that has churned out these players in the first place. So I think for one tournament every two years, with all the money that’s in the game at the moment and so crass the amount of money that is put to the front in the conversations around golf, I think it would be a wonderful narrative for the future of the Ryder Cup if it was not about money and it was about the 24 players being representative, helping both ecosystems that made them who they are.”

So where do things stand this year at the Presidents Cup, where 12 American players (eight of whom were on last year’s Ryder Cup team) meet 12 International players (‘international’ meaning players outside of Europe)? Below is a small sampling of thoughts, starting with Schauffele, who was asked whether players should get prize money in the Presidents and Ryder Cups, why or why not:

“That question is a bit of a grenade, to be honest,” he said. “I think there’s no place for a player to talk about prize money in this sort of event. That’s for other people to decide. Our preference is our preference. We’re here and we’re happy to play amongst each other and represent our country.

“It’s such a hot topic, but I think it’s pretty brutal to ask any player that because there’s no right answer a player can give you.”

On Wednesday, three other Americans — Max Homa, Wyndham Clark and Keegan Bradley — were also asked the question. Homa and Clark played on last year’s Ryder Cup team, while Bradley is the captain of next year’s Ryder Cup squad. 

Said Homa: “I don’t know. I haven’t really spent much time thinking about it. … Yeah, I could play devil’s advocate to both. One, like these events make a ton of money and we are on TV playing the golf. But on the other side of the coin, I think we have been given so much as professional golfers and to get to do this is about as fun as you’ll ever have. So to do it for free is also fine.

“I get everyone’s point of view. I don’t think it should ever really be a hot-button topic. I don’t think it’s the end of the world either way. I get why there’s — why it can become a talking point. I just don’t think that it’s a massive issue either way.”

Said Clark: “That’s a tough question. You know, here’s what I will say: I know that representing Team USA is an amazing accomplishment, and we’re all very fortunate to be able to do that.

“With that said, I think there’s a lot of money that’s being made at these events. You know, there’s arguments both ways. All I’ll say is if Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup goes and makes a few 100 million and we’re not getting anything from it, it seems a little unfair. But at the same time, I just feel blessed to be on this team. I go to the Olympics and there’s no money and I feel honored to play for Team USA. Honestly, I am kind of staying in the middle. I get both sides. I’m just happy to be here.”

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Said Bradley: “I think luckily those decisions aren’t up to me. I think we would all do it for free. I think we are, we love to represent the United States, what the future holds. There’s a lot of money to be made in these events for everybody, and if they decide that’s the best way to do this, then that’s great.

“These guys don’t — we want to go out there and play and win this thing. Whether it was for a lot of money or no money, we would show up.”

Asked the question on the International side were Adam Scott, who this week is making his 11th Presidents Cup appearance; and Mackenzie Hughes, who’s making his first. To note, International players play biennially, while the U.S. plays a team event once a year. 

Said Scott: “Well, in a roundabout way, we kind of always have benefitted, whether it’s with a charitable donation or something. And I think whether it’s prize money or a charitable donation, that’s a big enough gesture for the players. 

“We’re professional golfers. But there’s a balance, as well. You know, we do very well on the PGA Tour with prize money. You know, there’s parts of giving back, whether it’s actually giving back charitable dollars or giving back by showing up and not competing for prize money for a week. It all should be a fair balance, is what I think, and I think we are at a place where that’s fine.”

Said Hughes: “I don’t think so. It’s hard from my perspective because again, I would personally do it because I love these competitions. I love the game. So if you said, hey, you have to pay to play in this, I would love to pay to play in this. But there would be guys, I’m sure, on the other side that have won multiple majors and maybe feel like they deserve to be paid to be here. I never feel that way. I feel like it’s an honor that doesn’t need to come with any monetary value.

“All my memories from this week are going to be the team room, playing with my teammates, playing for Mike, and that was really why I wanted to be here was to play for Mike, to play in Canada, to have these memories. That’s worth more to me than anything you could pay me.”

Opinions, it’s safe to say, were diverse.

During his pre-event press conference on Tuesday, Cantlay wasn’t asked about the subject, though Sunday, his Instagram account posted its affection for this year’s clothing supplier, saying: “Thrilled that my friends @bdraddy + @zerorestriction were selected as the official clothing partner for this year’s @presidentscup. They knocked it out of the park with these uniforms – let’s go [American flag emoji]!” It should also be noted that Cantlay is one of six players on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, and as mentioned earlier, the Tour runs the Presidents Cup.  

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U.S. captain Jim Furyk, meanwhile, had this exchange on Tuesday with the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson, who asked:

“How did you get Cantlay to wear a hat this week?”

Said Furyk, “We finally had one that had that odd of a shape that it would actually fit on there.”

He added: I think a lot of it’s our vendors. He wore a hat two years ago in Charlotte. We had the same vendors on the PGA Tour, and he seems to be comfortable. If my guys are comfortable in hats, they can wear hats. If they’re not comfortable in hats, it doesn’t matter.

“It doesn’t work out too well for me, I’ll just say. [Here, he partially lifted his hat to show his absence of hair.] My head will turn purple after a day, but I want them comfortable. I think we would both say that the clothing this year, my guys love it.”

Said International captain Mike Weir, seated to Furyk’s right: “Yeah, same. The guys are happy.”

“Guys are comfortable this year,” Furyk said, “which is really nice.”