How a wardrobe choice may have gotten Americans, not Europeans, paid for the Ryder Cup

Controversy surrounded the 2023 Ryder Cup when Patrick Cantlay’s wardrobe sparked conversation about paying players at the tournament.

Cantlay opted not to wear a hat during play on Saturday, claiming it did not fit well on him. However, speculation arose that it was a protest because he was not being paid to play. Xander Schauffele also reportedly was not happy about essentially playing for free, and it reportedly got to the point where he was nearly kicked off the team.

Amid that speculation, European fans taunted Cantlay throughout his round that day by waving their hats toward him. However, after making a long birdie putt, members of Team USA returned the favor, as did his caddie, Joe LaCava.

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LaCava waved his hat right in front of Rory McIlroy, who still had to putt, and it turned into a heated conversation both on the green and in the parking lot.

Players at the Ryder Cup had been given a set amount of money, reportedly between $200,000 and $300,000, to donate to charity. However, following the Cantlay controversy, American golfers will now receive $300,000 for charity plus another $200,000 stipend from the PGA of America.

European players are not receiving any extra cash.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler hinted that the extra money will also go to local charities in his hometown of Dallas. Ironically, Cantlay himself offered similar comments on Tuesday, as did Collin Morikawa on Wednesday. 

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However, when the conversations about Americans being paid were still in the rumor stage, Rory McIlroy did not seem thrilled.

“I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup,” he said last year. Ironically, McIlroy has not worn a hat at several team events, including the 2016 and 2018 Ryder Cups and 2021 Olympics. 

Team Europe captain Luke Donald added, “It’s one week where you play for more than yourself. It’s … not about money or points, it’s about coming together as a team and the fans feed off that — it’s all passion. I don’t think we should ever get paid.”

However, Morikawa made it clear on Wednesday that the added pay would be the last thing on his mind come Friday morning.

“Look, I think at the end of the day, all 12 of us here playing when we tee it up on Friday, and before this all started, we just want to win the Ryder Cup,” he said. “We want to win it for ourselves. We want to win it for our country. When we stood out there two days ago, and we got speeches from the Nassau Players Club, and we got speeches from the [NYFD] firefighter and his son, look, I’m not an emotional guy, but there was emotions. And sometimes it just hits home. When you hear that type of stuff, and you’re able to bring out that emotion, just being able to represent a country, you want to step on that first tee and put points on the board. That’s all I’m going to remember.”

PGA of America CEO Kerry Haigh said that it was “the time” to pay players, considering the amount of revenue the Ryder Cup has brought in over the years. The organization, however, did say that “no players asked to be compensated.”

Despite that, though, it should go without saying that Team Europe, in a hostile New York environment this weekend at Bethpage Black, will be using that as motivation to become the first team to win a Ryder Cup on the road since they did so in 2012.