Is There A Purse For The Ryder Cup?

Featuring only the best golfers that the USA and Europe have to offer, the Ryder Cup is a prestigious event indeed, a tense showdown between giants of the sport, each with fairly giant bank accounts too.

For instance, Europe’s last star player (and current world number one) Jon Rahm, raked in an incredible $7.7 million over the course of the season, making him the highest earner of 2021.

Is There A Purse For The Ryder Cup

Another 5 players of the total 24 picked to compete can be found on the PGA Tour’s list of big moneymakers — Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, and Justin Thomas had all earned well over $6 million by the time the season wrapped.

In light of this, You’d be forgiven for thinking the Ryder Cup purse must be positively bursting with cash, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Win or lose, no competitors get an opportunity to bolster their already bulging bank accounts, as there is no traditional purse to claim, but that’s not to say there isn’t a lot of money wrapped up in the tournament.

How Much Money Do Ryder Cup Players Receive?

Despite being the cream of the golfing crop, no Ryder Cup competitor is compensated financially for taking part.

Even if they make up an integral part of the winning team,(see also: Shamble In Golf?) no money is earned; however, traditionally, a few things do sweeten the deal for the players.

What Does Team USA Receive For Participating In The Ryder Cup?

The US PGA gifts each USA team member $200,000, half of which can be divided amongst charities of their choosing, while the destination of the other half of the pot is predetermined, going to one or more of the following organizations:

  • The Drive, Chip & Putt Championship
  • The PGA Junior League
  • The Boys & Girls Club of America

What Does Team Europe Receive For Participating In The Ryder Cup?

The European team members aren’t offered the same $200,000 in charitable donations as the members of Team USA are.

Instead, custom dictates that the captain of the team treats each player with a single gift, but they don’t pay for it out of their own pocket.

Although the team captain is responsible for selecting and giving the Ryder Cup gifts to their team members, the costs are covered by the sizable Ryder Cup funds pool.

And gifts aren’t necessarily only gifted to a team from their captain, as in 2018, Jim Furyk, captain of the losing US team gifted the victorious Europeans a lovely decanter.

Granted, a decanter isn’t as swanky as the individual player gifts received from their captain, but it was certainly a nice sentiment, and it showed a lot of grace in defeat, which is something we don’t see a lot of these days — Good show, Jim!

What Sort Of Gifts Does Team Europe Receive From Their Captain?

What Sort Of Gifts Does Team Europe Receive From Their Captain

As you might expect, the gifts given to Team Europe are pretty impressive.

For instance, the 2018 European players each received a top-of-the-range customized Rolex watch from their captain, Thomas Bjorn.

However, the potential wrist candy is just a bonus, as the primary motive of competitors is simply to win the coveted Ryder Cup itself.

That’s right, folks; the true reward for taking part in the Ryder Cup is the glory of victory, but even if you wind up playing for the losing team, simply being selected in the first place is a massive honor.

How Do Other Tournaments Compare To The Ryder Cup in Terms Of Rewards?

Remember earlier when we mentioned that 6 of the Ryder Cup players brought home over $6 million in 2021? Well, they did so by dominating numerous other tournaments with insane cash grand prizes.

Here’s what they’re competing for when they take part in each of the major golfing contests.

  • LIV Golf Invitational London —  Total purse of $25 million, $4 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $120,000 for finishers.
  • Players Championship — Total purse of $20 million, $3.6 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $41,000 for finishers.
  • Masters — Total purse of $15 million, $2.7 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $36,000 for finishers.
  • PGA Championship — Total purse of $15 million, $2.7 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $24,000 for finishers.
  • BMW Championship — Total purse of $15 million, $2.7 million of which is awarded to the winner, while the minimum payout for finishers is yet to be determined.
  • FedEx St. Jude Championship — Total purse of $15 million, $2.7 million of which is awarded to the winner, and, yet again, the minimum payout for finishers is yet to be determined.
  • Memorial Tournament — Total purse of $12 million, $2.2 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $25,000 for finishers.
  • Genesis Invitational — Total purse of $12 million, $2.2 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $23,000 for finishers.
  • Arnold Palmer Invitational — Total purse of $12 million, $2.2 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $23,000 for finishers.
  • WGC Match Play — Total purse of $12 million, $2.1 million of which is awarded to the winner, with a minimum payout of $41,000 for finishers.
  • U.S. Open — TBD
  • British Open — TBD

Final Thoughts

As you can see, golf can be an incredibly lucrative sport, and bear in mind that the above figures don’t even account for after-purse bonuses paid to players for a number of reasons, and these bonuses typically exceed the prize money taken home by the winner by a long shot.

Offering players absolutely nothing in the way of financial compensation for their participation, the Ryder Cup positions itself in stark contrast to the other golf tournaments, and in a way, that makes it the most special of all!

Garratt Shmidt
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