Rory McIlroy Shades Americans for Ryder Cup Pay: ‘I Would Pay to Play!’

Rory McIlroy shaded the Americans for the newly reported decision to be paid during the Ryder Cup, an advantage that will only be presented to the U.S. players.

Reports yesterday circulated that they would be paid roughly $5 million as a team, breaking down to about $400,000 per player.

U.S. Ryder Cup Team To Be Paid for First Time: Here’s How Much They’ll Make

The Europeans are obviously aware of the report and are starting to make their thoughts more public.

One was Rory McIlroy, who said he'd pay to be a Ryder Cup team member:

“I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup...the two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it's partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved."

Money was the subject of the last Ryder Cup in Rome because rumors began to circulate that certain members of the U.S. team were upset about not being paid. Speculation persisted that U.S. team mainstay and clutch player Patrick Cantlay was one of them, and his decision to not wear a hat was his sign of protest.

Cantlay trolled the rumors with a gesture as he locked up a strong finish for the U.S. on Day 2:

Credit: Yardbarker

McIlroy was still highly critical of the thought that the Americans, or any participating player of the Ryder Cup, should be paid. He felt as if that money makes no difference to the players involved:

“I don't think any of the 24 players on either team needs that 400 grand. Every two years, there are 104 weeks and 103 weeks you can play golf and get paid."

Perhaps he has a point.

Cover Image via Golf Digest