Keegan Bradley 'Not Concerned' Over Europe's Ryder Cup Pay Stance

Team USA captain Keegan Bradley says he is "not concerned" about Team Europe's stance on their Ryder Cup pay, claiming he wanted to bring the competition into "today's age".

The Ryder Cup begins on Friday, with Team USA hoping to clinch the title on home soil at Bethpage Black.

Team USA's players are each being paid $500,000 for their participation, though at least $300,000 of that must be donated to charity, while Team Europe are not receiving a financial incentive.

It has been suggested that by taking payment, it appears the Ryder Cup means more to Europe than the USA, but Bradley quickly dismissed that notion.

"I don't really get that," Bradley said. "I'm not concerned about what Europe does or what they think. I'm concerned about what my team is doing.

"I was tasked with a job the PGA of America asked me to do, and this was what we decided. We wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into today's age, and we felt like this was the best way to do it.

"We copied a lot of what the Presidents Cup does. We did the best we could, and I think a lot of good is going to come from this. I think the players are going to do a lot of good with this money, and I think it's great.

"The players are really good people and are going to do a lot of good things."

Luke Donald claimed on Monday that his team made the choice not to receive payment for the Cup, but Bradley reiterated that it was a way to modernise the competition.

"The PGA of America came to me; they wanted to bring the Ryder Cup into the present day," Bradley added.

"The charity dollars hadn't changed since 1999, and they asked me to sort of shepherd their way into making it into 2025."

The last Ryder Cup in 2023 took place in Rome, producing a 16½-11½ win for Team Europe – their seventh consecutive victory on home soil.

Meanwhile, the last Ryder Cup played on US soil, in 2021, saw a 19-9 win for the USA, the largest margin of victory in the modern era of the event (since 1979).

Team USA have not failed to win on home soil since 2012, when the European team clinched a dramatic 14½-13½ victory at Medinah.

Bradley is confident that they can hold off Team Europe, though, and is particularly happy with the condition of Bethpage Black ahead of Friday's start.

"I think we sort of look at the analytical data and how our players perform at their best, and we set the course up accordingly," he said.

"One of the great things is being a captain is to have a say in how the course is set up.

"I've played this course 50 to 100 times, and this is probably the best condition I've ever seen it."