It is confirmed! Scottie Scheffler & the rest of Team U.S. will receive $500,000 each for their participation in the 2025 Ryder Cup. Ever since the rumors of this had begun, everyone in the golf community had voiced their opinions about the situation.

There are many who are quite displeased stating that this step by the PGA of America ruins the purest form of golf. Some also said that anyone who qualifies for a Ryder Cup team certainly isn’t required to be compensated as they can easily earn the winnings in a tournament or two.

Then there were a few who supported the step as they mentioned how such initiatives will motivate the players to perform better. There are certainly a lot of mixed opinions about the situation, but one thing is for sure, Keegan Bradley’s team will receive $500k for their Ryder Cup efforts in 2025.

Golf.com provided details about the compensation and also shared insights into what the players think about it. As they stated, the American team will receive about $300,000 to donate to charities and another $200,000 as a stipend for their participation. Speaking to GolfChannel.com, the Team U.S. captain confirmed that he will be donating all the compensation he receives to charity.

PGA of America President; Don Rea Jr. also spoke to the same source stating “The message was to grow the game and help charities. The players are our members as well and we treat them just like we do all of our members.” He further added, “No players asked to be compensated,” defending the stance of American pros.

The world no. 1 had also commented on the situation earlier. Scottie Scheffler said, “As far as I’m concerned, I think all of us on the American side are more than willing to play in the Ryder Cup for free. We’ve been playing in the Ryder Cup for free for a long time,” defending his fellow Team US pros. Mr. Inevitable further added, “If they want to pay us to play in the tournament, that’s great. I mean, as far as how much or what it should be, the tournament seems to make a good amount of money… I don’t think there’s any problem with guys getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup. I don’t think it takes away from the competition at all,” confirming that he is not against the idea of getting paid for playing in the Ryder Cup. However, after the compensation was confirmed, Scheffler & co. received a lot of backlash from the fans.

The Golf.com article also confirmed that while the PGA of America will offer compensation, the same will not be the case for their counterparts, the DP World Tour. So far, there have been no reports of the European Tour matching the American league’s initiatives and providing any monetary benefits to their players.

And even if they did, Team Europe players have been vocal about not wanting to get paid to play in the Ryder Cup. Let’s see what they had to say.

Scottie Scheffler & Rory McIlroy’s clashing opinions

During an interview earlier this year with BBC Sport, Rory McIlroy mentioned, “I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup.” Further sharing the importance of competitions like the Ryder Cup in golf, he added, “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.” He was not the only one to have such an opinion. Shane Lowry also mentioned, “You’re not even giving back because it’s a privilege to be there.” Sharing what he feels about being a part of the Ryder Cup team for his country, the Irishman added, “I’d give anything to know that I’m on the team next year. I’m going to spend the next 10 months stressing my head off trying to make the team.”

However, speaking about the different stances of players from both teams, Kerry Haigh; the PGA’s interim CEO and chief championships officer said, “That’s always been the case (European players not being compensated), we’re aware what they make goes back into the tour to help the DP World Tour, but we think this is the best thing and the right thing to do for our players.” The governing body of both teams may have chosen different approaches to managing their players for the Ryder Cup. But that doesn’t mean the contest will be less exciting in 2025.

The 45th Ryder Cup will be played at the Black Course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island, New York. The tournament is scheduled to begin on September 26, 2025, and will be broadcast on Sky Sports.