Rory McIlroy: I would pay to play in the Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy says he “would pay to appear in the Ryder Cup” in response to news that the US team is set to receive almost £4 million collectively for next year’s match in New York.

Telegraph Sport exclusively revealed on Wednesday that nearly 100 years of tradition will be broken under the PGA of America’s proposals to reward each of the players with a $400,000 (£315,000) fee at Bethpage.

And McIlroy, the world No 3, said that members of the Europe team have already decided that if they follow suit it could affect their renowned team unity.

“We had a conversation with Luke [Donald, European captain] about it after we heard and the common consensus is that, I don’t want to say it taints the Ryder Cup, but it would give it a different feel,” he said. “We’ve done a really good job being this really cohesive collective group over the past decade and we wouldn’t want anything to change that. I think the money coming in really would change the dynamic of what we have.

“Look, I personally 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 the purity of no money being involved. I honestly don’t think any of the 24 players on either team needs that 400 grand, because of all the millions we play for. In two years, there are 104 weeks and 103 weeks you can play golf and get paid. One you don’t. I’d say that’s reasonable enough.”

McIlroy was keen to stress that he “understands both sides of the argument”. He added: “And I’m not criticising at all because if the Ryder Cup generates $100 million-$200 million in revenue, you would think that the talent should probably have a piece,” he said.  But he warned the home side that there could be reputation damage, particularly after the controversy surrounding the ticket prices, the cheapest of which for the three-day tussle is $750.

“Obviously, there’s been conversation about how high the ticket prices are…. And if the PGA of America is looking to make more money out of the Ryder Cup or the players are starting to be paid, that ultimately comes from the people that are paying to watch the event,” he said. “So it’s a double-edged sword. I do understand but don’t think it makes us look very relateable to the average person.”

‘I’ve never heard a European say we should be paid’

McIlroy’s viewpoint summed up the attitude of the big-name Europeans playing at Abu Dhabi’s Earth Course in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. “It’s not something I would worry about,” Tommy Fleetwood said. “Pay me nothing or pay me £10 million to play in the Ryder Cup – I’m still going to play.  In fact, I would probably pay to play in it. I don’t think it will make any difference to the dynamic [if the US are paid and the Europeans are not] to the match at all. I’ve never heard anybody say in the European teamroom or anywhere else that we should be paid. Never. It’s just not something we’ve ever thought about.”

This is in marked contrast to the opposition. Rumblings in Team USA emerged at the end of the last century when the likes of Tiger Woods and David Duval raised objections that hundreds of millions were raked in with no reward for the competitors. Since then, $200,000 per player has been donated to charity, but the dissent endured, with Patrick Cantlay last year accused of staging a protest by not wearing the team hat.

If the plans are ratified at board level – and the expectation is that they will be waved through and the US players will be paid directly into their bank accounts – then Sir Nick Faldo, the six-time major champion who is second on the list of all-time points scorers, feels the visitors will occupy the moral high ground.

“If a few of the US team feel that being paid is what they need to give 100 per cent for their team, then so be it” Faldo told Telegraph Sport. “For me, walking out of the teamroom with my fellow players on the simple mission of winning a point for our team meant that no other motivation whatsoever was needed.”

“There’s no greater memory for me, than getting up and down at the 1995 Ryder Cup to win a crucial point for my team, far greater than thinking I was being compensated for my efforts.”

The issue overshadowed the first round in the Race to Dubai finale. McIlroy shot a five-under 67 to share the lead with Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, with last week’s winner Paul Waring a shot behind. McIlroy seems almost guaranteed to win his sixth money list crown. Only Thriston Lawrence can stop the Northern Irishman, but the South African – who needs to win and for McIlroy to finish outside the top 11 – fired a one-over 73.