Tour Confidential: Ryder Cup outrage, LPGA Player of Year, LIV leadership

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss the Ryder Cup ticket controversy, LPGA Player of the Year race and a reported shakeup coming to LIV Golf’s C-suite.

A week after the 2025 Ryder Cup captains, Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald, visited New York City for a “Year Out” media blitz, the Ryder Cup made headlines again this week, this time for what it will cost fans to attend. Tickets for the event, which will be conducted at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, will run about $250 for practice rounds; $420 for the celebrity matches and the opening ceremony; and a whopping $750 for each of the three competition days — fees that have ignited outrage on social media. By way of explanation to our Sean Zak, the Ryder Cup’s championship director, Bryan Karns, said, “The general price is I think just indicative of (a) this market, (b) where we position ourselves, where we feel like we are [in the greater sports landscape], and then the demand.” What’s your take on the pricey rates?

Alan Bastable, executive editor (@alan_bastable): Two things can be true at once: the PGA of America is simply charging what fans (or enough fans, anyway) will be willing to pay, so can you really fault them for cashing in? But the organization also is willfully alienating a large swath of the golf-following populous by pricing them out. Compounding the awkwardness is (a) the players don’t get paid to play so surely some of those savings should be paid forward to fans, and (b) this edition of the event isn’t at some swank resort course — it’s at the country’s most famous muni, where weekday rates for state residents are only 70 bucks, and which has been the site of two so-called “People’s (U.S.) Opens.” The 2025 Ryder Cup’s exorbitant admission fee just feels incongruous to Bethpage’s DNA. Call it the Corporate Cup. 

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): Well said, Alan. Some tiered pricing would have been appreciated. Seems like there could have been an opportunity to offer a percentage of tickets by lottery at a more affordable price, and let the rest of them go sky-high to buyers with more disposable income. It’s a weird one, because as you mentioned, this is coming from an organization in which the mission is promoting and growing the game. But those initiatives cost money, and it has to come from somewhere!  

Dylan Dethier, senior writer (@dylan_dethier): Jess, maybe you should take up a side gig as PGA of America consultant? This feels like the correct answer — at least give people some sort of chance to get in the gates for a couple hundred bucks before you raise prices for the rest of ‘em.

I wish I had a hotter take to share on this subject. On the one hand I think it stinks that there’s no way around a $750 ticket. On the other hand I guess I’d rather the PGA of America get that money than secondary sellers finding a market? It’s cool that the Ryder Cup has become such a hot ticket. But also — manage your expectations if you do end up going. It’s a great way to spend a day, the atmosphere rocks and team match play is the best. But it’s also tough to see every shot; you’ve gotta get comfortable with the idea that you’ll miss a lot, or watch it on a screen. So yeah, Alan, a bunch of things can be true at once…

Do you suspect the steep ticket prices will have any impact on the overall vibe of the event?

Bastable: I hope not! For as long as the Bethpage Ryder Cup has been on the calendar, I think we’ve all been looking forward to rowdy, wisecracking New Yawkers descending on the property and charging up what already is a hyper-charged event. I expect the place to be rocking no matter who fills the seats, even if some spectators are sipping not from plastic cups but crystal flutes.

Marksbury: I agree. As long as those seats are filled — and they will be! — the atmosphere will be incredible. Now, the U.S. just has to win…

Dethier: I have a feeling the rowdy fellas will find their way in regardless. This isn’t LACC, where the members got first crack at ticket-buying. I suspect these will still be bought by the good people of Long Island, who will just wince a little harder at checkout than they’d like.

With her wire-to-wire win at the BMW Ladies Championship in Korea, Australian Hannah Green joined world No. 1 Nelly Korda and No. 3 Lydia Ko as the only players to win three or more times in 2024. (Korda has six wins, including a major, and Ko has three titles, including a major, and also a gold medal for her win in the Paris Games.) With only five tournaments remaining on the ’24 schedule, does Korda already have Player of the Year honors clinched?

Bastable: Well, neither Korda nor Ko are playing next week in Malaysia so Ko actually has only a maximum of four starts to try and close the gap — and it’s a yawning gap at that: 100 points! (Read: insurmountable.) But if you’re looking for a 19th hole debate, if Ko were to win a couple more times before the year is out, you could make the case that she’s had the better year. That calculation would come down to how much stock you put in her Olympic title, which is not an official LPGA event and thus did not garner Ko any Rolex points. Either way, it’s been a banner for all three of these players. When stars do star things, it makes pro golf way more interesting.        

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Marksbury: I’ll play the other side of this debate! What Nelly has accomplished this season was incredible, full stop. BUT, for the sake of argument, let’s say that Ko’s gold medal is on par with a major championship. If she wins one more tournament this season — like the season-ending CME Group Championship, where she has an excellent record — that’s a pretty comparable resume to Nelly’s in my opinion.

Dethier: Korda’s year has been spectacular. But it’s also been bizarre. Take out the strange dog bite and her recent injury — which we still don’t know much about — and this is a season that could have reasonably finished with double-digit victories. How ‘bout this for fence-sitting: This was the year Korda cemented herself as the best player in the women’s game and she had a historically dominant start to the year. She should be Player of the Year. But I’ll take Ko’s fairy-tale story, because Olympic gold plus the Open at St. Andrews really did feel too good to be true.

Padraig Harrington, who these days plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour Champions, posited this week that the senior circuit might be the most cutthroat of the major golf tours when it comes to maintaining status. “I’m only on the tour a few years, and I’m only starting to realize, this has got to be the hardest, tightest tour to keep your card on in the world,” he said. “Thirty-six guys keep their card. And even if you win, you only get one-year exemption.” Your thoughts, please!

Bastable: If Paddy’s right, then Bernhard Langer’s sparkling 17-year run out there is all the more impressive. There’s no doubt the Champions tour is far more competitive than many fans realize, in part because the guys love playing out there so much that they don’t want to lose the privilege. Guess I’d never considered the specific challenge of keeping a Champions card, but 36 spots is indeed tight. Tougher than keeping a PGA Tour card? The bubble boys now sweating it out in the fall events might beg to differ.  

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Marksbury: I think Padraig is spot-on! For players who don’t have any previous PGA Tour status to fall back on, the Champ Tour is ultra competitive. Sure, there’s no cut in most events, but you really have to perform in order to stick around. And unless you can shoot 64 on a whim, it’s nearly impossible to break through Monday qualifiers, too.  

Dethier: In a way, Paddy’s right. (In a way Paddy’s always right.) After all, there’s no lack of talented 50-somethings playing golf and 36 cards is very, very few. But the best PGA Tour players — and those at the margins of status — are just so, so good that it’s tough to think anything could be more cutthroat than that.

According to a Sports Business Journal report, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which backs LIV Golf, is on the hunt for a new LIV chief executive officer to replace Greg Norman. (Norman would remain on LIV’s senior leadership team, the report said.) Put on your recruiting cap and suggest a suitable Norman successor.

Bastable: Big job! One that requires business and marketing acumen, a fondness for travel and a track record of disruption. Is Elon available? Hmm…who else…Jay Monahan? Too soon?

Marksbury: I could see a tapped-in PGA Tour super-agent like Mark Steinberg being a good candidate. But given Tiger’s feelings about LIV, I guess that’s not likely to happen any time soon.

Dethier: How ‘bout Phil Mickelson? I’m not sure he’s ready to kiss his Hy-Flyer playing days goodbye, but he’s been essential to LIV’s vision every step of the way. If the goal is dialing back the divisiveness in negotiations, though, Lefty may not be the man… some low-key exec we know little about may be a wiser investment.