As money talks in golf, Ryder Cup can’t escape

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy — In a year when golf seems to revolve around money more than ever, the Ryder Cup is not immune.

The PGA Tour this past season had 11 tournaments with at least $20 million in prize money — excluding the majors — as it tried to hold off the threat of the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League. And then it struck an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund to be business partners.

Professional golf is only going to get richer, however that agreement gets worked out — if it does.

“I’m tired of it. The whole world is,” Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA of America, said in an interview leading into the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. “We play for love, and they play for money. It’s the one time of the year they should be playing for love, and we’re still talking about money.”

The idea that golfers should be compensated to play in the Ryder Cup is nearly as old as the Americans’ 30-year losing streak on European soil.

But it surfaced again Saturday morning with an unsubstantiated report from Sky Sports — the broadcast partner for the Europe-based DP World Tour at Marco Simone — that singled out Patrick Cantlay as causing a rift among the Americans because he thinks they should be paid.

“It’s not about that,” Cantlay said after he birdied the last three holes to win the last match of the day. “It’s just about Team USA and representing our country. That’s all I’ve got to say about that.”

The report also claimed Cantlay was not wearing a hat out of protest. Cantlay also did not wear a cap at the 2021 Ryder Cup, which was in Wisconsin.

“Not at all. This is the first I heard of it right when I got off the green,” Cantlay said. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”