The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between the United States and Europe. The event is a match play format with no purse at stake. Although, after the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline Country Club, Tiger Woods, David Duvall, Mark O’Meara, and Phil Mickelson all questioned where the reported $63 million dollar profit from the event went. They suggested that they’d like to donate their share of the revenue earned from what they saw as a corporate event since they could not personally get a share.
Since the “Battle of Brookline” the players have a say so on where some of the funds can go and which charities, they would like to see benefit from this revenue.
The US team players are offered $200,000, half of which they must donate to the charity of their choice and the other half the PGA of America donates to a charity of its choice.
In 2021, the PGA of America chose youth charities including the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, the KPMG Future Leaders Program an PGA Junior League Golf for their half.
Each team requires a leader, and this is where team captains come in. The role of a team captain is a prestigious one, as they appoint vice-captains as well as selecting the players who do not automatically qualify to fill out the 12-man roster.
Ryder Cup captains over the years have been those with a plethora of experience and have previously been part of teams. However, they do not get paid for their role as Captain, but their travel expenses and responsibilities ahead of the tournament are completely covered.
For the inaugural Ryder Cup in 1927, British players received money for travel and a kit allowance, but that went away years ago. Now the European team offers its players gifts and perks for their contribution to the team paid out of the Ryder Cup pool. A tradition started by Ryder Cup legend Tony Jacklin when he first captained Europe in 1983.
The revenue from the tournament is not equally split between the United States and Europe. When the tournament is held on US Soil, the PGA of America takes almost 85% of the profit. On the other hand, when the event is conducted on European Soil, the European Tour receives 60% of the profit.
Many believe that the Ryder Cup is the greatest competitive event in the world and it quite often lives up to the hype with the stellar play, intensity and tremendous fan support. Having such a monumental event give back to charities, is just another blessing.
