Do Ryder Cup Players (and Captains) Get Paid?
The best professional golfers earn millions of dollars — some of them tens of millions of dollars — in income from tournament winnings each year. But at the Ryder Cup, through the 2023 tournament, there was no tournament purse, no prize fund. Team USA golfers in the late 1990s began receiving money to pass along to charities, but Team Europe players have always gone without any direct monetary payouts.
But beginning with the 2025 Ryder Cup, the players on Team USA will begin receiving payment for playing in the Ryder Cup.
Team USA Golfers Now Get Paid, Team Europe Doesn't
There was no direct compensation to the golfers who play in the Ryder Cup until 1999. That's when Team USA golfers, demanding a slice of the pie, got the PGA of America to start giving them a big check. But the money didn't go into the players' pockets. Instead, the PGA of America gave Team USA players what amounted to grants: The players took the money and passed it on to charities of their choosing.How much did Team USA golfers get from 1999 forward? $200,000 each.
Beginning in 2025, though, the formula changes, and, for the first time, Ryder Cup players will be directly paid for the play. But only the Americans.
Late in 2024 the PGA of America announced it was bumping up payments to each golfer to $500,000. Of that total, $300,000 remains in grant form, with the golfers able to direct that money to a charity or charities. The other $200,000 is compensation to the golfers — the golfer can do whatever they want with it, including sticking it in their bank account or blowing it all on a yacht. (Some players may choose to give the full $500,000 to charity, but the PGA of America's plan does not require that.)
What about Team Europe's golfers?
Since 1983, the European Tour has maintained a special fund that its Ryder Cup team captains can use to buy gifts for each golfer on the team. This was started by Tony Jacklin, who was European captain in the 1983 Ryder Cup. How much is in the fund? That information isn't public, but it probably varies along with the finances of the European Tour. However, the gifts given to Team Europe players can be costly. For example, Thomas Bjorn, Team Europe captain in the 2018 Ryder Cup, used the gift fund to give each of the 12 golfers on his team a Rolex watch.
There has never been a monetary payout to Team Europe golfers and, despite the payments to American golfers that begin in 2025, Team Europe golfers so far say they don't want any. They will continue, they say, to play for pride.
Of course, playing the Ryder Cup, an ultra-high-profile event, can benefit the golfers in other ways. The exposure — to fans, to potential new sponsors — can open up new business opportunities and potentially lead to new deals with new sponsors.
It should also be noted that no golfer is required to play in the Ryder Cup. It truly is a voluntary assignment. Any golfer, whether an "automatic qualifier" or a captain's pick, is free to decline. Does that happen? Not anymore, not really. But in theory it could. And it has in the past. Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf, for example, notably declined opportunities to play in the Ryder Cup in the 1970s. But the tournament had a much, much lower profile back then.
Are Ryder Cup Captains Paid?
Prior to 2025, the answer was no: Ryder Cup captains (and their assistant captains) were not paid, not even in the form of charitable grants. They (like the players) did, at least, have their expenses (such as traveling to tournaments to watch potential team members) covered.That is still true for Team Europe captains and vice captains. But the PGA of America payment plan for players that tees off in 2025 also includes the same deal for the team captain: $500,000 total, $300,000 of which is in the form of a charitable grant, $200,000 of which goes to the captain to do with as he wishes.
Team USA assistant captains will also receive a compensation package beginning in 2025, but at a lower level.
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