Bunk Moreland said:
The Ryder Cup is big business now. PGA of America is making money off it no doubt. I normally always go with the 'play for pride' side of things...but if I was going to play the Ryder Cup for no money that's one thing...having to agree to a Netflix documentary crew following me and my team around, including in the locker room during our most vulnerable moments when we're trying to play for that pride...all so the PGA of America can make more money off me? Hard no.
Agreed. I also tend to fall on the "play for pride" side of things and generally think that's how the Ryder Cup should be.
On one hand, we've seen "Ryder Cup appreciation arcs" over the years from players who initially thought it was another event at which they should be compensated, only to play in it a few times and realize there's something more to it. Tiger, Duval, Rory, I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting.
While it feels like Cantlay/Xander are team event veterans at this point, but I'm also realizing that you can't be a team event veteran until you've been punched in the mouth at a road Ryder Cup. It's possible they feel differently today than they did to start the week.
HOWEVER, the Ryder Cup has become such an undeserved honey pot for the PGA of America. It's a boondoggle for them that funds their annual budget and makes sure a few bureaucrats are handsomely compensated. If they're going to max out tv contract revenue by selling to the highest bidder (NBC), who then puts out an asinine TV product because of all the commercials they have to air, I'm all in on re-allocating a big slice of the gravy train to the players.
I watched every single shot this past weekend, but I watched zero of them live. I turned my phone off and watched delayed so I could fast forward through commercials. It's the only sane way to do it.
PGA of America bureaucracy and club pros have nothing to do with the Ryder Cup as currently constructed. They shouldn't be able to hoard all the profits from it. At least not without proper publication of where the funds are going.
I'm guessing Cantlay/Schauffele and whoever else would have little problem playing for free if all the $$ was going toward real charities and/or a commercial-free telecast for the fans... or at the very least, not just lining the pockets of an organization that has nothing to do with them. But that's so clearly not the case.