The source of the topic was a report last month on the PGA of America considering a proposal to pay American players $400,000 at the Ryder Cup, an amount that was a mystery to the executive level at the PGA of America, which still doesn’t have a CEO.
Woods is well-versed on the topic, which dates to 1999 when Woods, David Duval and Mark O’Meara were among those questioning how much money the PGA of America was making off the Ryder Cup. That resulted in $200,000 for each player, half to a charity of their choice and the other half to a golf management program at their university.
“We didn’t want to get paid, we wanted to give more money to charity, and the media turned it around against us and said we want to get paid,” Woods said. “No. The Ryder Cup itself makes so much money, why can’t we allocate it to various charities? And what’s wrong with each player, 12 players getting $1 million and the ability to divvy out to amazing charities that they’re involved in that they can help out?”
The $5 million figure came about when Woods was asked if it should be made clear the money would go to charity, which it has for the last 25 years.
The issue is money coming in and where it goes, and it’s different for each team. The European tour is the lead partner in Ryder Cup Europe, and money from the matches in Europe is crucial in funding the tour. The PGA of America — not the PGA Tour — runs the matches in the US. The PGA of America gives the tour 20 percent of the television deal.
Rory McIlroy was among European players who, when asked about the report, said they would pay to play in the Ryder Cup.
“If the Europeans want to pay to be in the Ryder Cup, that’s their decision to do that, that’s their team,” Woods said. “I know when it’s on European soil that it subsidizes most of their tour, so it is a big event for the European tour and if they want to pay to play in it, so be it.”
