The schedule change also meant that the announcement of Friday’s player pairings and matchups was not included in the proceedings, as it usually is. But another tradition was broken, too. Amid his Opening Ceremony speech on Wednesday, European Luke Donald took a couple of subtle digs at the U.S. players.
And his comments did not come in a vacuum. They followed a campaign Donald and the European team have enacted to try and rattle the American Ryder Cup team over money. More specifically, the fact that U.S. players are getting paid this year, and the European pros are not.
There, a European journalist reported that American player Patrick Cantlay refused to wear a U.S. team hat in protest for not being paid to play the Ryder Cup. The accusations touched other American players too, though Cantlay strongly denied them.
The controversy, known as HatGate, extended to the course, where fans taunted Cantlay and the American team in Rome, and Cantlay responded by waving an imaginary hat after making putts or winning holes.
Things got serious in one Saturday match featuring Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, where Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava waved his hat on the green in McIlroy’s vicinity, resulting in a shouting match between the teams.
Then late last year, when the PGA of America announced U.S. Ryder Cup players would receive $300,000 for charities of their choosing plus a $200,000 stipend to use however they wish, European players jumped on it. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry made comments on the topic soon after, with McIlroy saying he would “pay for the privilege to play” the Ryder Cup.
Donald has kept the theme alive throughout the past year in various interviews. This week has been no different.
For example, in a Monday interview with Sky Sports, Donald brought the topic up again as if for the first time.
“This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it. I talked to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the U.S. were going to do something different with payments and, you know, every one of them was just like, ‘We don’t want to — this isn’t a week to get paid,’” Donald said.
Then came his Opening Ceremony speech.
Donald throws shade at American Ryder Cup pros in Opening Ceremony
Traditionally, captains’ speeches at the Ryder Cup Opening Ceremony are all about sportsmanship, thank yous and a little bit of team boosting.
Donald’s speech certainly hit on all those points. It was in no way a broadside against the U.S. team.
Take his kind words about U.S. captain Keegan Bradley, for example.
“To Keegan, Jillian and your two boys, Logan and Cooper, Diane and I have really valued our friendship over the years, and we know that bond will last well beyond this week no matter the outcome. It’s been a pleasure to share this Ryder Cup captaincy with you. Thank you for your friendship and all the memories along the way.”
Or these comments about the U.S. team.
“To the 12 players of Team USA, your talent and passion are never in doubt. We know you’ll bring your best. We promise to do the same.”
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But Donald’s speech also featured thinly-veiled digs at the American players over the money issue.
“We come to you this week not just as individual players from nine different nations but as one team, a team defined by history, by unity and by belief that we are playing for something far greater than ourselves,” Donald began, laying the seeds for his slight at the U.S. players. “The Ryder Cup means so much to each and every one of us. It is unlike anything else in our sport.”
When he brought up the topic of money for the first time, he did so by arguing that the European Ryder Cup players are too noble to play the Ryder Cup for money.
“It is not about prize money or world ranking points,” Donald said. “It’s about pride. It’s about representing your flag, your shirts, and the legacy you leave behind.”
He then continued to list the things that his European team plays for other than money.
“We play for our families, our teammates, our countries, our continent, and for the generations before us who made this event what it is today.”
The question many American fans, and perhaps players, were asking themselves at this point in the speech was this: Is he suggesting that the U.S. Ryder Cup players don’t play for their families, country and flag, but play only for money?
Donald provided that answer when, later in his speech, he brought up the topic of player pay again.
“We are fueled by something money cannot buy: Purpose, brotherhood, and a responsibility to honor those who came before us, while inspiring those whose time is yet to come,” Donald said.
It’s important to note that several former European Ryder Cup stars knowingly threatened their future involvement in the event by taking large sums of money to join LIV Golf, among them Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia. In fact, the original captain for the 2023 European Ryder Cup team was Henrik Stenson, but Stenson was removed from the position after joining LIV himself. Donald was his replacement.
Additionally, the $300,000 stipend American players will receive this year, which some have already said they will give to charity, is an insignificant amount compared to the many millions each player earned on the course this season.
At this point, captain Donald and the European’s strategy to paint the American Ryder Cup players as caring only about money and not winning is clear. What isn’t obvious is why they think this is a sound strategy.
Whether it’s the Ryder Cup or a playoff series in other professional sports, teams’ regularly draw inspiration from opponents’ critiques. Usually, the goal is to not provide the other team with any “bulletin-board material” that might fire them up.
We’ll have to wait to see which team ends up benefitting from the Ryder Cup player-pay controversy when the first matches tee off Friday morning.
; "Luke Donald takes cheeky dig at U.S. Ryder Cup players in speech 1")
