Shane Lowry issues firm response to Team USA Ryder Cup payment claim

Shane Lowry has made his feelings wide aft it emerged Team USA volition wage its players astatine the 2025 Ryder Cup pursuing the contention successful Rome past twelvemonth erstwhile Patrick Cantlay became a pantomime villain

Shane Lowry believes Team Europe does not request wealth for information aft their American counterparts learned they volition beryllium paid for competing successful the Ryder Cup for the archetypal time.

According to The Telegraph, the PGA of America has made arrangements for a $6million (£4.7m) cookware to beryllium shared among the 12 players connected Keegan Bradley's squad astatine Bethpage Black successful New York successful 10 months' time. Each subordinate is acceptable to person astir $400,000 (£315,000).

The taxable of players being paid for playing successful the Ryder Cup has been debated for galore years, peculiarly connected the American side. Tiger Woods led calls 25 years ago for players to person the accidental to what they privation with a portion of the wealth created by the tremendous Ryder Cup currency cow, saying helium would donate his information to charity.

The substance came to a caput astatine past year's lawsuit successful Rome, wherever the 2nd time of play was overshadowed by claims Team USA prima Patrick Cantlay refused to deterioration a chapeau successful protestation of not being paid. He denied the determination was a protest, though it became wide helium was of the presumption that Ryder Cup players should beryllium paid.

Golf has go progressively awash with immense sums of wealth successful caller years aft immense concern successful the aftermath of LIV Golf's inception successful 2022, with some the breakaway circuit and the PGA Tour throwing eye-watering sums astatine players. The Ryder Cup, therefore, stood unsocial arsenic an illustration of athletics successful its purest form, with elite players competing lone for idiosyncratic and nationalist pride.

That volition alteration astatine Bethpage Black with American players getting a steadfast boost to their slope equilibrium for a week's enactment connected arguably golf's biggest stage. The DP World Tour, which runs the European team, however, has nary specified plans, and erstwhile Open champion Lowry – who has played astatine the past 2 Ryder Cups – says the lawsuit means overmuch much to him than immoderate magnitude of money.

“It would astir apt beryllium silly of maine to remark connected it, really. Where would I basal connected it? I tin lone talk for myself. I don’t truly attraction whether I did (get paid) oregon not, to beryllium honest. You know, the Ryder Cup is simply a privilege, and it’s what I enactment for," the 37-year-old told the Irish Independent aft the opening circular of the DP World Tour Championship connected Thursday.

“It’s what I’ve worked for for the past ten, 15 years, to beryllium capable to play Ryder Cups, and I’ve been fortunate to bash 2 of them and person large experiences astatine them and physique my marque playing Ryder Cups. I emotion the tournament, and I conscionable privation to beryllium involved. I don't attraction whether I get paid oregon not.”

Lowry says the determination to wage American players for their information volition person nary bearing connected the effect erstwhile the clip comes for Europe to support its rubric adjacent September. He says the longstanding statement for European players benefits the crippled crossed the continent.

“I truly don't deliberation [it volition power the outcome],” helium said. “We're The European Tour. They are The PGA of America. They are not the PGA TOUR. They are The PGA of America. It's their call, not our call. It's up to the powers that beryllium what happens there.

"We don’t request immoderate much information to spell adjacent twelvemonth and win. Yeah, we each cognize successful Europe that the circuit lives disconnected the Ryder Cup, and it helps tally the Tour.