‘What’s wrong with that?’ – Tiger Woods claps back at media over Ryder Cup pay row
Tiger Woods insists there's nothing wrong with Team USA players wanting money if they subsequently send it to charity to play in the Ryder Cup.
In a break 💯from a near 100-year tradition, American plജayers look set to be paid for competing in next year’s competition.
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The PGA of America has drawn up proposals that would see its golfers earn a figure of nearly $400,000, a direct payment for the first time in the showdown’s 97-year hist✅ory.
US players already receive $200,000 to donate to a charity of their choice, but the new figure would be paid into their ban✤k accounts.
Whether the money is passed on to good causes or not would ultimatelജy be up to them.
The proposal, reported by The Telegraph last month, has not yet been ratified at board level - but inꦛsi♑ders say it is likely to happen.
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As European players will not be paid for playing the Ryder Cup, the pay row is highly controversial.
Yet, it is nothing new - as Woods well knows.
Speaking ahead of the 2024 Hero World Challenge, an event he is hosting in the Bahamas this week, the golf legend suggested he is in fav⛄our of paying players as long as all the money is donated to charity.
"Goin🌠g back to my playing days, we had th🐽e same conversation back in 1999," Woods began at a press conference.
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"We didn't want to get paid, we wanted to give more money to charity. And the media turned it around against us and said we wanted to get paid.
"The Ryder Cup itself makes so much money, why can't we allocate it to various charities?
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"What's wrong with 12 players getting $1million and giving it out to the amazing charities that they are involved in, that they can help out?
"Their hometowns, where they're from. All the different junior golf associations, or endeavours that members are involved in."
Woods went on say that he would like꧒ to see the US stars earn more than the reported $🧜400,000 figure.
"It's never really been about getting paid. It's been about how we can allocate funds to help our sport, or help things we believe in," he continued.
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"I hope they get $5m each and donate all of it to different charities. I think it's great, what's wrong with that?"
The issue෴ 𓃲over pay offers shades of the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline that Woods referenced, where worries of a player boycott were quickly quelled.
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Recently, stars like Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton h𒊎ave all suggested the Ryder Cup isꦉ about more than just money.
And Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, has said he 𝓰would actually pay pull on the famous yellow and blue.
"That’s their right to say that,” ꧅Woods said, when the point was brought up to him.
“I just think 𒈔that event is so big that we can give so much money to dif🔜ferent charities, and I’ve said that since ’99.
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"If the Europeans w💙ant to pay to be in the Ryder Cup, tౠhat’s their decision to do that."
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