7 hours ago
8
Team USA's Collin Morikawa issued a defiant retort to claims that the Americans need financial incentive to compete at the Ryder Cup this week, instead pointing to a more emotional inspiration.
The USA's $200,000 stipend to tee it up against the Europeans in the battle of Bethpage has stirred controversy, dominating headlines in the buildup to the clash.
Its provided ammunition for Team Europe whose captain, Luke Donald, boldly claiming that the New York home crowd could turn on their profiting stars if they don't deliver this week.
But Morikawa, who is playing in his third Ryder Cup, adamantly dismissed the accusations that he and his teammates require payment to play, claiming that they are drawing their motivation from a lot closer to home.
'There's no number,' he said when asked if $200,000 was a sufficient figure to reflect their efforts. 'It could be zero. It could be one dollar. There isn't a right or a wrong amount.
'I think at the end of the day, all 12 of us here playing when we tee it up on Friday, and before this all started, we just want to win the Ryder Cup. We want to win it for ourselves. We want to win it for our country.
Collin Morikawa issued a defiant retort to claims that the Americans need financial incentive
European captain Luke Donald has used his opponents' payment as ammunition
'When we stood out there two days ago and we got speeches from the Nassau Players Club and we got speeches from the firefighter and his son, I'm not an emotional guy, but like there was emotions. And sometimes it just hits home.
'When you hear that type of stuff and you're able to bring out that emotion, just being able to represent a country, you want to step on that first tee and put points on the board. That's all I'm going to remember. So hopefully we have a great three days come this week.'
Early Monday morning, US Captain Keegan Bradley, his 12 players and their caddies stood on the first tee ready to embark on their first official practice rounds.
But before they could officially begin their quest for the 45th Ryder Cup, Bradley invited a New York firefighter, Chris Mascali, whose father Joe tragically lost his life while battling the fatal blazes of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to address his team.
The American players were left visibly choked up as Mascali, joined by his son Joey, spoke about 'honor' in a rousing rallying cry.
Team USA is housing Joe Mascali’s helmet in their team room at Bethpage Black, around 30 miles outside of Manhattan.
For his part, Morikawa also insisted that while he and his teammates were receiving the stipend, they weren't the sole benefactors.
Each player will receive $500,000. From that sum, $300,000 will go to a charity of the player’s choosing, with the other $200,000 effectively serving as a paycheck, should they choose to accept it.
US Captain Keegan Bradley and New York firefighter, Chris Mascali, whose father Joe tragically lost his life in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and Mascali's son Joey
Bradley invited Mascali to address his 12 players and their caddies on Monday morning
The consensus across the Americans this week has been that they intend to donate their entire salary to charity, including Patrick Cantlay who was the target for European fans' taunting in 2023 for his alleged refusal to wear a Team USA hat in protest against not being paid, though he later denied those claims.
'I think Keegan and the PGA of America have fought in certain ways just to, you know, whether it's a thank you or... whoever is making money from The Ryder Cup -- they are making a lot of money.
'I think on that end, it's just to give us an opportunity to either pay our respective teams, because the teams behind us, they don't get the recognition that we do, but they deserve a lot of it that we get.
'But also just to give back to our own communities. We have a lot of communities back home that sometimes don't get the recognition, that don't get the word-of-mouth just because we don't travel to those places that the PGA TOUR stops on every week.
'[There are] Just more opportunities, I think, for us to help out people that we care about.'
