U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley defends decision to pay American players

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – U.S. captain Keegan Bradley on Monday defended the PGA of Americaâ€s decision to pay American players a stipend to play in the Ryder Cup.

This year, for the first time, each U.S. player will receive a $200,000 stipend in addition to $300,000 that will be distributed to charity.

Thatâ€s an increase from the $200,000 that was strictly earmarked for charity previously. Itâ€s a similar payment scheme to what the PGA Tour has for Presidents Cup participants.

Bradley has already said that he will donate the entirety of his $500,000 bonus. He did not disclose how many of the U.S. players will follow suit, saying itâ€s a “personal decision.â€

“The PGA of America asked me to help out with this,†Bradley said, “and this is the best way we came up with to do it.â€

Added PGA CEO Derek Sprague on Mondayâ€s “Live From the Ryder Cup”: “[Bradley] wanted to do more good with the money, so thatâ€s why there is $300,000 out of the $500,000 allocation going to charity. … At the end of the day, charityâ€s going to win again.â€

The pay-for-play issue dates to the 1999 matches but came under the spotlight once again two years ago in Rome, with reports that U.S. players wanted to be compensated for participating in the PGAâ€s biggest money-making event.

Bradley was asked four questions – by two U.K.-based journalists – about the new plan, and if it creates a perception that it “means more†to the European players because theyâ€re not being paid to play.

On the first official day of Ryder Cup week, as his team began its preparations in earnest, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley admitted Monday that he thought about playing “every second.â€

“Well, Iâ€m not concerned about what Europe does or what they think. Iâ€m concerned about what my team is doing,†Bradley said. “We did the best we could, and I think a lot of good is going to come from this. I think the players are going to do a lot of good with this money, and I think itâ€s great.â€

European captain Luke Donald was seated beside Bradley on Monday afternoon but did not receive any questions about the Americans†new monetary arrangement.

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