Report: Xander Schauffele nearly had Ryder Cup spot revoked
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[October 03, 2023]
Xander Schauffele, an automatic qualifier for the United
States team at the 2023 Ryder Cup, could have been removed from the
squad in a contract dispute, his father told the Times of London.
The golfer wanted to make three amendments to the player
participation and benefit agreement but was threatened by the PGA of
America to sign by the September deadline or be pulled from the
team, Stefan Schauffele told the paper in a story Monday.
"The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about (the
three amendments)," Stefan Schauffele told The Times. "It was very
late in the schedule right before the team came (to Rome) to
practice because they had moved the deadline and they said, ‘If you
don't sign it by then, you're off the team,' but they never gave us
the contact information of their legal counsel.
"Saturday morning of Labor Day weekend (Sept. 2), finally, the head
of the PGA of America got wind of this, because it was not him that
was blocking it, and put our lawyers in contact with the PGA of
America's general counsel, and then it took a few hours to hash it
out and it was fine. Then I received a message that Xander was back
on the team. That you can quote. That's the extent of this and I
think it's shameful."
Xander Schauffele and the Americans lost to Team Europe 16 1/2-11
1/2 on Sunday at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club outside Rome.
Europe has claimed eight of the last 11 Ryder Cups, as the U.S. team
failed to end a road drought that dates to 1993.
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The PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup in conjunction with
Ryder Cup Europe, declined to comment to The Times and had not
immediately replied to other media outlets' inquiries.
The Americans had an awful start to the competition, and the
emotionally-charged event was heightened by a story in Sky Sports
reporting a fracture on the U.S. team led by Patrick Cantlay, who
allegedly thought players should be compensated to play in the Ryder
Cup. They are paid $200,000 to go to the charity of their choosing.
Cantlay repeatedly denied the allegation, saying the story was false
and that he wasn't wearing a team hat because it didn't fit, not out
of protest. He said the Ryder Cup was about representing the
country, not getting paid for competing.
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Still, he was taunted by spectators waving their
hats toward him, and U.S. teammates showed a playful side by tipping
their hats at him after a match victory.
Cantlay and Xander Schauffele apparently wanted the player agreement
amended so that a Netflix documentary crew didn't have access to the
team room while filming a second season of the "Full Swing" series,
for which players are not compensated. Later, U.S. captain Zach
Johnson said the team voted unanimously to keep out cameras to
preserve the "sanctity and sacredness of" the team room.
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Stefan Schauffele said more discussions are needed between the U.S.
players, the PGA of America and Team Europe about how the money from
the Ryder Cup is distributed. Instead, the organization is being
secretive and non-communicative, he said.
"They are using players' intellectual properties to make money and
the American players don't get paid," Stefan Schauffele told The
Times. "More importantly, this would become a non-issue if all
proceeds, net proceeds, from the Ryder Cup were to be donated to
common charitable causes. Right now, the American players are asked
to donate their time pro-bono in the name of patriotism so these
organizations can benefit from the profits.
"The PGA (of America) uses this money, and the PGA Tour gets 20
percent that goes into the retirement of every member. The 12
players supposedly need to eat it and their intellectual property
gets abused for the benefit of 200 other people. That's not right."
--Field Level Media
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