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Luke Donald has cranked up the heat on the United States Ryder Cup team by claiming the home crowd at Bethpage from Friday may be more likely to turn on Keegan Bradley and his players because they are being paid to take on Europe. In what is a highly controversial move, Bradley and his 12-man side will each collect $500,000 (£370,000) – $300,000 of which must be directed towards charity, with the rest labelled a stipend – while the European contingent continue to perform at the Ryder Cup for free. Added to the mix is the fact that tickets start at $750 per tournament day.
Much has been made of likely antipathy from the New York audience towards Donald and his players as Europe look to retain the trophy they won in Rome two years ago. However, the Englishman believes USA could find themselves under intense gallery pressure if Europe gain an upper hand. “That could happen,” said Donald. “We all know how high the ticket prices are, and it’s going to be an expensive trip out for a family of four. If the US players are getting paid a stipend, or whatever it is, and they aren’t performing, the New Yorkers could make them know about it.”
Donald, who also led Europe in 2023, seems comfortable that the visitors have avoided the cash element despite the Ryder Cup escalating as a commercial entity. “I wanted to get ahead of this when I first heard about it last year and looked like it was likely going to happen,” Donald said of the USA team being paid. “I reached out to all the 12 guys from Rome to see how they felt. Their voices are important. Everyone was like: ‘We haven’t even considered playing for money for that event.’
“We just don’t see that. We understand what it represents. We have a great purpose and that’s really enough for us. We understand that the money raised goes to help the European Tour Group and the grassroots. We talk a lot about this, we are here to inspire the next generation. So this money is going to good things. It will hopefully help future Ryder Cup players become great players. I think our purpose, why we play the Ryder Cup, is pretty strong and that’s enough for that week.
“It speaks to what the Ryder Cup means to these guys. A couple of hundred thousand dollars to these guys isn’t a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Those weeks of the Ryder Cup, they are the best weeks. There’s so much more to them. We certainly don’t need any motivation or monetary rewards to get us up.”
Donald’s level of grit is often underplayed. The 47-year-old is softly spoken but lacks nothing in competitive steel. “There’s plenty of anger and a chip on my shoulder underneath,” he said. “I want to win. When I was No 1 in the world, I would look at any slight towards me and use that as motivation.
“I certainly could have easily walked away a couple years ago after a great job in Rome and people were pleased. This is a great challenge. To have this opportunity, to push yourself to try to do something that’s very difficult to do, that’s pretty motivating for me. Hopefully we can do it.”
By Sunday night Donald could become the first European captain since Tony Jacklin to win home and away Ryder Cups. Recent records suggest he faces an uphill task, with the Europeans without a win on US soil since 2012, but the captain is keen to accentuate positives. Donald’s 10 ½ points from 15 matches when a player stands out as an exceptional modern day return and was a key part of the Miracle of Medinah 13 years ago. Donald will be assisted in New York by Thomas Bjørn, José María Olazábal, Alex Norén and the Molinari brothers, Edoardo and Francesco.
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“I think not even just me but you look at the vice-captains,” Donald said. “Between playing, vice-captains, captaining, we have been part of 35 Ryder Cups, the six of us, and we have won 29 of those, 83%. It’s pretty good. I think our team has a lot of confidence in those guys. We have a lot of history. That’s something to really feel confident about.
“We obviously have to make some changes from the last couple [in the US] because those weren’t very good. Between myself and the other vice captains that’s kind of been our thinking, how do we make it a little bit closer and that’s what we’ve been working on.”
