Ryder Cup legend slams Team USA stars over pay | Golf News

Ryder Cup icon Darren Clarke has voiced his disapproval over the American workforce’s choice to pay its gamers for collaborating in the event. For the first time in historical past, Team USA’s gamers and captain Keegan Bradley will obtain a hefty sum of $500,000 each for their participation at Bethpage, with $300,000 going to charity and the remainder saved by the person if they so select.

Clarke expressed his discomfort with this association, stating: “No, one hundred pc that doesn’t sit properly with me. You can ask any of those guys in that European workforce would they settle for money. Everyone to a T will say no.

“It’s not about money. That’s not what the Ryder Cup’s about. The Ryder Cup was never about money. The Europeans would live and die just to make the workforce.” It comes as one Team USA Ryder Cup legend stoked the Europe rivalry with a brutal taunt.

He additional emphasised the emotional significance of the event, saying: “If you look at Matt Wallace’s response understanding he was just going to miss out, that tells you all about what it means to the Europeans to make the workforce.

“I’m not demeaning any of the Americans’ disappointment not making the team or whatever, but the money just doesn’t sit right with me. As a European player, when asked about money, that does not come into the equation. Maybe that’s why they’re more of a team. They pull so hard for each other that the money is completely irrelevant to what they’re trying to achieve.

Clarke himself is a testament to the spirit of the Ryder Cup, having been part of the victorious squad in four of his five appearances.

Reflecting on his time as captain at Hazeltine in 2016, Clarke admitted to Golf Channel: “Momentum is big in the Ryder Cup. It’s large. That specific week was a robust week for us Europeans in Hazeltine. The American guys performed splendidly properly.

“You do all your prep. You do as much as you possibly can. Everybody does. But then you’re either a wonderful captain because you won or you’re an awful captain because you lost. That’s part of the whole gig. Some of the stick that Zach Johnson got the last time in Rome was very unfounded because the guys are trying as hard as they can.”

“You’re a proud professional golfer and to be given the honor of being a Ryder Cup captain means that you’ve achieved something in the game. As such, you’re a competitor and you don’t want to lose. Unfortunately, one team is going to play great and the other just not quite as good as the other one. So the margins are so fine. It seems to be, especially in recent times, that the home advantage turns into a massive change in the result.”

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Echoing Rory McIlroy’s sentiments about the problem of profitable away, Clarke concluded: “The home support is a huge part of the Ryder Cup. We as players and captains and vice-captains know what it’s going to be like. It’s patriotic.

“The Americans come to Europe and it is ole, ole, ole. All the home people, the Europeans, are going like that. We go to America, it is USA, USA, USA. And that’s what it ought to be.

“Occasionally, it crosses the line. Occasionally, it gets personal. Monty [Colin Montgomerie] got ridiculous abuse at Brookline. It was just unfair and harsh with what he got. But being an away team, that’s part of it. That’s another reason why it’s so difficult to win on the road. New Yorkers, they’re fans, they’re passionate, they’re supportive, they’re loud. That’s what they do and Bethpage is going to be that way.

“Keegan and his workforce are going to be determined to strive and win. If they get off to a great start, then sensible. If they do not, then we’ll see how the group reacts. But that home assist, the thirteenth man, whatever means you need to call it, it makes a distinction. It really does.”