Schauffele's father references Tiger Woods in fresh claim about Ryder Cup pay
"We should go to the table and talk" Schauffele's dad hits out at the PGA of America over player pay in the US Ryder Cup team.
Xander Schauffele's father and golf coach Stefan believes the time has come for the PGA of America to let members of their US Ryder Cup team become much more involved in the share of profits following their biennial dust-up against Europe.
As it stands, players in the US Ryder Cup team are given charitable donations of $200,000 each.
They can distribute this money to any charitable cause they see fit.
It is understood the PGA Tour receives 20% of Ryder Cup TV profits from the PGA of America, of which this money goes into the PGA Tour's pension pot, although not specifically to members of the team.
But that's it.
REVEALED: 2023 RYDER CUP PLAYER RATINGS
In the eyes of Stefan Schauffele, who is also the coach of his son Xander Schauffele who competed in Zach Johnson's heavily defeated 2023 US team in Rome last week, a whole lot more needs to be done when it comes to players sharing in the PGA of America's profits each time.
Speaking to GOLF.com, Stefan said:
Stefan has one solution to make players happier to compete in the US side for free:
READ THE FULL GOLF.COM INTERVIEW WITH STEFAN SCHUAFFELE HERE
Stefan Schauffele then admitted the story of players wanting more for competing in the US Ryder Cup team is nothing new.
#MONEY BALL — Xander Schauffele’s Dad Stefan is adamant players should get paid to play in the Ryder Cup: “The PGA of America is a for-profit organization, they need to have the players share in that profit. Instead of being so damn intransparent about it, they should… pic.twitter.com/aa8POVhAja
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) October 4, 2023
It is understood Patrick Cantlay and Schauffele are both not happy about playing in the Ryder Cup for nothing.
While Cantlay chose not to speak any further about that at last week's Ryder Cup, he did hit out at a Sky Sports report that claimed he had been causing a rift in the Team USA camp last week over the topic.
Cantlay called it "false" information and he also played down all talk he was refusing to wear a cap at the Ryder Cup as a result of not being paid for competing in the US team.
He admitted the cap just "doesn't fit".
Schauffele was also reportedly involved in a standoff with the PGA of America which put his participation in the 2023 Ryder Cup at risk on the eve of the contest, according to a bombshell report by the Times of London.
It is said Schauffele's father Stefan believes the governing body was using 'strong-arming tactics' that 'falls into the wider dispute on the issue of whether golfers should be paid for playing in the Ryder Cup'.
But Cantlay and Schauffele are not the first players to question the PGA of America's distribution of profits at a Ryder Cup.
Far from it.
In fact, the likes of Tiger Woods, David Duval and Brooks Koepka have all made similar points throughout the years.
Stefan continued:
Woods once reportedly claimed the lack of player compensation at the Ryder Cup was "completely unfair", while Duval considered the prospect of skipping all future matches.
During the Covid lockdown in 2020, Koepka said he would bypass the Ryder Cup altogether if it was held without golf fans, citing the "only reason" the event would go ahead was for the PGA of America to make money off the back of it.
As it turned out, the Ryder Cup got cancelled in 2020 and was moved to 2021 where the USA ended up defeating Europe by a record scoreline of 19-9 at Whistling Straits.
While Stefan Schauffele wants more to be done when it comes to player pay for his son and others in the the US Ryder Cup team, European captain Luke Donald has a completely different stance on the subject.
Here's what Donald had to say on Saturday night on the subject of whether players should be paid to compete in the Ryder Cup:
Many Europeans consider that is what makes the Ryder Cup so special in the sense players compete for the love of European golf and those former legends that have gone before them in this historic team contest that first began back in 1927.
When the Ryder Cup first started it was contested between the United States and Great Britain.
Team Europe was then formed to battle the United States in 1979.
Donald's views above clearly reflect those of the rest of this current European Ryder Cup team, too.
Justin Rose hammered home this point in his post Ryder Cup interview when he said the European Ryder Cup team is about "a culture".
WATCH ROSE'S COMMENTS HERE
Justin Rose explains why the European Ryder Cup team is so special. pic.twitter.com/64BOhzFtwu
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) October 2, 2023
Where do you stand on players being paid or not being paid for competing in the Ryder Cup? Should more money be distributed to charity? Should players have greater involvement in where the profits go exactly? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
