According to tradition, the captain of Europe gifts his twelve players with a luxury watch on the occasion of the Ryder Cup. The presentation takes place on the first night they share a locker room during the competition week. However, this year, as revealed by the Telegraph, Luke Donald has gone a step further. The caddies, girlfriends, and wives of the players have also received their high-end wristwatch. Specifically, a Rolex. As everyone might imagine, the captain presents the gifts but does not bear the costs. They are covered by the DP World Tour. It is a gesture, a distinction, a way to make the week even more unforgettable for everyone.
What happens is that the expansion of gifts this year coincides with the controversy stirred in the American camp regarding the money they will earn for the first time at Bethpage. Let’s remember that this story began two years ago in Rome. The trigger was Patrick Cantlay and his decision to play without a cap on the second day of the Ryder at Marco Simone. A journalist from British Sky reported that Cantlay’s image was not accidental, but a way to claim that players should be paid for playing this competition and added that there was some division in the United States locker room on this matter.
Cantlay always denied it, arguing rather oddly that the only reason he didn’t wear a cap was that it didn’t fit him well, that there wasn’t one in his size. This Tuesday, he insisted on the matter. “I’ve said it a thousand times, the cap didn’t fit me well. This year we’ve done a better job in that regard,” he commented to the media with his United States cap pulled down to his eyebrows.
That players should be paid in the Ryder Cup has been a claim from the United States for years. One of the main leaders of this movement has been Tiger Woods. Therefore, since 1999 the PGA of America has given a cheque of 300,000 dollars to each Ryder player with the obligation, of course, to invest it in some charitable cause. There was a transaction, but the money was not for free disposal.
After the controversy in Rome, it was decided to review this policy. Keegan Bradley has been the architect of the new agreement with the PGA of America. This year, United States players receive 500,000 dollars, of which 300,000 are still for the charitable cause they stipulate, and the other 200,000 are for free disposal. “I was tasked with updating the situation, and I think we’ve achieved something good, more in line with current times,” the United States captain stated this week.
The American players who have passed through the press room have explained that they are going to dedicate those extra 200,000 dollars to charitable or benevolent causes, although not all have provided details about the destination of the money. Yes, as you can see, there has been a lot of talk about money in the lead-up to this Ryder Cup. At least in the American camp.
Meanwhile, Europe assures that they have no intention of charging for playing the Ryder Cup. This is what Luke Donald has said. “This [payment] was raised, and I wanted to get ahead and talk to the 12 guys in Rome when it seemed like the US was going to do something. Each of them said something like ‘we don’t want to be paid, this is not a week to charge’. We have such a strong purpose in this team and for what we play… to be honest, we reinvest part of that money into the experience of these guys. I feel that if you have those experiences that you will remember for the rest of your life, that is worth more than a couple of hundred thousand dollars in the back pocket… Personally, I felt very proud of the guys and the ideals with which this Ryder Cup was created in the 1920s by Samuel Ryder, and I think he would have been proud too.” These statements by Donald have not gone down well in American journalism, as they understand it as a criticism of their system from a morally higher position.
Amidst these back-and-forths, the matter of the Rolexes has come to light. Donald already hinted at this on Tuesday in his appearance that there would be something like this: “we reinvest part of that money into the experience of these guys”. Clear as day. Furthermore, this was confirmed by European team sources to the Telegraph in the aforementioned information: “There is absolutely no indication that our players might move in that direction, and we want it to remain that way,” said a team source. “It is a concession on our part to keep the players aligned with the idea of not charging. We want this to revolve around the unique experience it is for everyone, something that is above any direct payment and keeps that wolf away from the door. It also helps to level the playing field a bit more for the caddies.”
In this regard, according to different sources, Europe’s caddies earn 3,000 pounds for the week, plus all travel and subsistence expenses. Their American counterparts receive five times more. It was even leaked that Joey LaCava, Cantlay’s caddie, could receive 10 percent of those extra 200,000 dollars released by the PGA of America for Bethpage.
In short, there is a lot of talk about money again in the hours leading up to the Ryder Cup, although it doesn’t seem that the debate will go much further than this. At least now, the cards are on the table, and it is known what each one receives. After that, everyone can have their own opinion on whether or not one should be paid in the Ryder Cup and what is the best cause to which that money can be allocated.
