Does Shane Lowry care if members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team receive payments of $400,000 each to play?
Absolutely not.
Instead, Lowry is only concerned with himself. He hopes to make the European team for the third consecutive time, as he told Brian Koegh of The Irish Independent.
“I don’t really care whether I did [get paid] or not, to be honest. You know, the Ryder Cup is a privilege, and it’s what I work for,” Lowry said.
“It’s what I’ve worked for for the last ten, 15 years, to be able to play Ryder Cups, and I’ve been fortunate to do two of them and have great experiences at them and build my brand playing Ryder Cups. I think, yeah, I love the tournament, and I just want to be involved. I don’t care whether I get paid or not.”
Lowry’s comments come one day after a report indicated that U.S. Ryder Cup players will get paid to play next year at Bethpage Black. This news drew the ire of many golf fans, who believe the Ryder Cup is about passion, privilege, and patriotism. It also emerged on the same day that the PGA of America announced that it sold all of its tickets to the event for $750. Many lucky ticket-holders then put them for sale on secondary markets for more than $1,200, leading to more outrage online.
Nevertheless, the DP World Tour, which facilitates the European Ryder Cup team, does not plan to pay its players.
“Obviously we’re The European Tour. They are The PGA of America,” Lowry added.
“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 be what happens there.”
Lowry posted a 1-1-1 record at the 2023 competition, helping the Europeans win back the cup from the Americans at Marco Simone in Rome. But the Euros have not won a Ryder Cup on American soil since 2012, when they stormed back on Sunday to shock the red, white, and blue at Medinah No. 3. They hope to change that next year on Long Island, which, interestingly enough, will be the second time New York State will host a Ryder Cup. In 1995, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, the Europeans also produced a thrilling come-from-behind victory, turning Oak Hill into ‘Choke Hill’ for the Americans. Perhaps the Euros can win it again at Bethpage Black. But this latest controversy does not give the European team any extra motivation, according to Lowry.
“We don’t need any more motivation to go next year and win,” Lowry said.
“We all know in Europe that the tour lives off the Ryder Cup, and it helps run the Tour. Not that we’re happy to be a part of something — like you don’t think about it when you’re there. You know that, obviously, the Ryder Cup makes a lot of money, and it helps run The European Tour, the DP World Tour. And you’re not even giving back because it’s a privilege to be there, you know what I mean?”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
