Europe 'fuelled by something money cannot buy'

Captains Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley voiced respect but took their shots on Sept 24 in Ryder Cup opening ceremony comments.

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The ceremony, advanced from Sept 25 due to thunderstorms forecast for the eve of the Sept 26 opening matches at Bethpage Black, had thousands of supporters cheering each team.

Europe captain Donald took the opportunity to stress that unlike US players who are paid to play, European stars play for their legacy alone.

US captain Keegan Bradley, meanwhile, played up one of Europe’s most bitter Ryder Cup moments as a galvanising force for himself and the US team.

Since 1999, each US Ryder Cup player had received US$200,000 (S$258,000) for charities of their choice but that was raised in 2025 to US$500,000, US$300,000 for charity and US$200,000 as a personal stipend to use however they liked.

In contrast, Europe players told Donald they did not want to be paid to play in the Ryder Cup, some seeing that as they loved the competition more than their American counterparts.