'Different reasons': Bob MacIntyre weighs in on Ryder Cup money debate and sets out firm stance

Speaking in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge, the Scottish No 1 also likened his first taste of the event as being in a “battle” in his beloved shinty and admits he never imagined that could be the case in golf.

It has been reported that the Americans are set to be paid $400,000 to play in next year’s match at Bethpage Black in New York, with Tiger Woods saying he didn’t see anything wrong with a payment being as much as $5 million provided it went to different charities.

Both Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have said they don’t think players should be paid to tee up in the Ryder Cup, with McIlroy even admitting that he’d pay for the privilege to be involved in the match after quickly discovering that he had been well off the mark describing it as an “exhibition” event before making his debut at Celtic Manor in 2010.

“It will never be about money for us Europeans,” MacIntyre told The Scotsman at Albany Golf Course, where he is making his debut in the Woods-hosted PGA Tour event involving just 20 players. “I think it is just a different culture. We play in a Ryder Cup for different reasons and I think it showed last year. I am totally fine with how the Americans are.

“In Rome, though, we had Seve’s reaction under the Ryder Cup crest. The Ryder Cup means something different to the Europeans. It might not mean more necessarily, but it means something completely different than a financial reward. “At the end of the day, if you are playing one, two, three, four or five Ryder Cups, you are going to be rewarded financially for playing good golf and sponsors are going to come in and support you. Your on-course earnings are also going to be high.”

It was evident that the end of an era had been reached for Europe as a side captained by Padraig Harrington suffered a record 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in 2021. Under Luke Donald’s captaincy, MacIntyre, Ludvig Aberg and Nicolai Hojgaard injected much-needed new blood for last year’s contest and all played with huge passion on the outskirts of the Italian capital.

“I think it’s massive that it continues to happen like that,” said MacIntyre of how the Europeans seem to be inspired by their predecessors. “I mean, Rory came out before he had played in his first Ryder Cup and talked about it being like an exhibition match. He now regrets that. He’s had it passed down from your Westwoods, your Poulters and so on after they had it passed down to them from guys like Sam Torrance, for example.

“It then gets passed down to us and I’d love to be open and honest about what goes through our heads when we are in that team room. It is blood, sweat and tears. It literally feels like going on to a shinty pitch for me.

“You are literally going into battle and there’s not a chance I would have thought that would be the case in golf. Not even when I got into the Ryder Cup team, to be honest, but I do now because, boy, it was!”

Donald’s preparations for the 45th edition will again include a team event between Continental Europe and Great Britain & Ireland, but, after being involved in the Hero Cup in 2023, MacIntyre is not playing in what is now called the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi next month.

“I played in the one in 2023 and absolutely loved it,” he said. “I thought it was a great tool for me to get to know Tommy [Fleetwood], Shane [Lowry] etc. It got me a step ahead of where I would have been if I didn’t play in it.

“For this one, I’ve not had a bad start but the points started after my win in the Scottish Open and I’m not in an automatic spot at the moment. There’s a long way to go,though, and, with the points being so heavy in the US events, I think if I can go to Hawaii and play well in the two events there (the Sentry tournament of champions and Sony Open) and the come back and play well in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, then I am hoping I am going to flip this on its head and ‘bang’ I’m then in one of the automatic spots.

Once you are in that position, it’s just about continuing to churn out points and my schedule is going to allow that. If I play good golf in the next eight months, everyone believes I should get in that team for Bethpage.”