American Patrick Reed has said payments for participating in the Ryder Cup are “unnecessary” and that it ranks among sporting events where “money means absolutely nothing”.
The former world No 6, who was not selected by Keegan Bradley for this month’s trip to Bethpage Black, said that the importance of playing for one’s country outweighed any financial reward.
Bradley and his players will earn $500,000 (£368,300) for taking part, of which $300,000 (£221,000) must be donated to charity.
Luke Donald’s Europe squad will not be paid anything for their trip to New York, and have continually insisted it is not a consideration.
Reed, speaking at Wentworth’s PGA Championship, said that: “I never played in that event and cared about playing it for money. It was all about playing, representing my country and trying to win the cup.
“It’s just like playing in the Olympics. Once every four years and it just means something to go out there and play for your country. There’s no dollar amount that I would want to play in a Ryder Cup or play in an Olympics.
“I really think it is unnecessary. There are certain events that money means absolutely nothing and that’s one of them. If you’re going to give money to players, have it all go to their charity or something like that. Do something good with it.”
The former Masters champion also gave Europe the edge ahead of the Ryder Cup, adding: “The actual brotherhood and camaraderie out here, you don’t really have in the States.
“I feel like they play a lot of team golf over here, growing up and everything. We don’t, even though you’re playing high school, college, there’s not a lot of team format. It’s go out, play individual.
“That’s definitely an edge that they have over here, the camaraderie and the tightness of the group. But I feel like we’ve recognised that in the US, and we’re working on it.”
