Tiger Woods wants more money for Ryder Cup players to donate to their charities

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Tiger Woods said that Ryder Cup players deserve increased compensation for their play, but the funds should then be directed to various charities of the players’ choice.

“I would have to say that going back to my playing days, we had the same conversation back in ’99 and it was 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 Tuesday, speaking at the Hero World Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas. The 15-time major champion hosts the event but will not play this year due to his continued recovery from September back surgery.

The Telegraph reported last month that each U.S. player would be awarded $400,000 at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. It was not included in that report whether or not the additional sum would go to charity or directly to the players.

The biennial U.S. versus Europe competition has historically operated without a traditional pay structure for players. The participating professionals do not get paid, but on the U.S. side, the PGA of America currently allocates $200,000 to each player to donate to a charitable organization. That program began in 1999 after David Duval raised the suggestion and the issue nearly provoked a player protest of the event.

Currently, European players do not receive funds for personal compensation or a charitable gift at the Ryder Cup, nor did the report state that there were efforts for change in the future.

“No, the Ryder Cup itself makes so much money, why can’t we allocate it to various charities?” Woods said. “And what’s wrong with each player, 12 players getting a million dollars and the ability to divvy out to amazing charities that they’re involved in that they can help out? It’s their hometowns, where they’re from, all the different junior golf associations or endeavors that the members are involved in. It’s never really been about getting paid, it’s how can we allocate funds to help our sport or help things that we believe in back home, because it’s so hard to get onto that team, there’s only 12 guys. What’s wrong with being able to allocate more funds?”

Woods then shared that he hopes players would get “$5 million each” and “donate it all” to an array of charities of their choice.

The pay-for-play debate caused a stir at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, when U.S. player Patrick Cantlay allegedly protested the lack of compensation by choosing not to wear his uniform hat. Cantlay denied the report, which spread throughout the Marco Simone property with force, but the topic dominated discussions at the match-play event. Stefan Schauffele, father of two-time U.S. Ryder Cup team member Xander Schauffele, told the Times of London after the event, “Right now, the American players are asked to donate their time pro bono in the name of patriotism so these organizations can benefit from the profits.”

Speaking at the DP World Championship in Dubai last month, Team Europe’s Rory McIlroy said that he would “pay for the privilege to play in the Ryder Cup.”

“The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it’s partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved,” said McIlroy.

The PGA of America, which operates the Ryder Cup when it’s held in the U.S., will charge fans $750 for the cheapest ticket to next year’s event.

Woods was the heavy favorite to captain the team next year until it was decided he is too busy off the course to take on the assignment. Woods’ responsibilities have been extensive in recent months, particularly due to his role on the PGA Tour Policy Board and the transaction subcommittee, the seven-person group that communicates directly with the Saudi Public Investment Fund amidst ongoing negotiations.

Woods said he remains hopeful that an agreement between the PIF and PGA Tour eventually becomes definitive, but the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation still stands in the way of its completion.

“I think all of us who have been a part of this process would have thought it would have happened quicker than this,” Woods said. “Even if we had gotten a deal done by now, it’s still in the DOJ’s hands, but we wish we would have had something more concrete and further along than we are right now.”

Required reading (Top photo: Raj Mehta / Getty Images)

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