This year’s Ryder Cup, which is fast approaching, could see Paul McGinley making a significant impact for the European team.
This time around, he will be working as a strategic advisor for Luke Donald, who is back in charge and hoping to end a long run without an away win.
Europe have not won on American soil since 2012, and Donald will be looking to finally end that streak.
Closing in on the event, McGinley thinks Team USA captain, Keegan Bradley, will do a good job overall but believes the Americans have already made a significant error before things even get underway.
Paul McGinley believes Team USA have already hurt themselves ahead of the Ryder Cup
The former European captain was asked on Sky Sports Golf whether paying players this year could be a public relations misstep for the US.
“I think it is yeah, I personally do. Americans have been chasing this for a while,” he replied.
“They’ve got their way eventually, players have got a lot of leverage in the game at the moment, and they forced the issue on it. So the PGA of America has let them do that.
“Our players had a different view, and collectively they all said no, prefer to see more money invested in the team and more money going back to the PGAs of Britain and Ireland as well as Europe, and of course the European Tour.
“There’s enough money that they’re all making everywhere else in the game, they took the view that Ryder Cup should be sacrosanct, should be different.
“And we want to honour also the players that came before them, who didn’t get paid as well. I think that you’d be admired for that.”
He added: “And I do think we do have the moral high ground on it. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out if it develops as a story during the week.”
How much are American players being paid to play at the Ryder Cup?
Each Team USA player participating at Bethpage Black will receive $500,000, as the PGA of America has confirmed.
Of that amount, $300,000 is earmarked for charity donations, with the remaining $200,000 going directly to the players.
The topic is bound to come up more than once over the next week. With any luck, it will not overshadow what happens on the course.
Playing in the Ryder Cup has always been seen as an honour, not just another event on the calendar, especially given that most of these players have already made a fortune from their professional careers – a fact that fuels the controversy surrounding that measure.