By Anusha M

Copyright sportskeeda

Amid the pay-for-play controversy of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Luke Donald makes an indirect comment during the opening ceremony. The biennial event is set to tee off on September 26 at Bethpage Black Course in New York. However, the 45th edition has been surrounded by debate about Team USA receiving additional payments for their appearance at the tournament.Ever since the PGA of America announced a bonus prize money for the players on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, the issue sparked a pay-to-play debate in the golf world. Several Team USA players, like Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Patrick Cantlay confirmed that the additional fees would be donated to charities following the backlash. This controversy comes two years after Cantlay seemingly sparked rumours about players not getting paid by not wearing the team cap during the 2023 event.During the 2025 Ryder Cup opening ceremony at Bethpage, European team captain Luke Donald took a subtle dig at the U.S. team in his speech. Speaking about the value the biennial event holds, Donald shared:“This isn’t about prize money or ranking points. It’s about the legacy you leave behind. It’s about pride. It’s about representing your flag, your shirt, and the legacy you leave behind. We play for our families, our teammates, our countries, our continent, and for the generations before us who made this event what it is today.””We know it won’t be easy… but we are fuelled by something money cannot buy. Purpose, brotherhood and a responsibility to honour those who came before us,” Donald added.Luke Donald will be making his sixth Ryder Cup appearance this week and his second as a captain. He led Team Europe to victory at Rome in 2023 with 16.5 points over Team USA, who scored 11.5 points at the end of the tournament.Luke Donald reveals the reaction of Team Europe regarding additional paymentsLuke Donald at the Ryder Cup 2025 practice – Source: GettyThe European team captain, Luke Donald, recently spoke about having a conversation with his team following their win in Rome. In one of his interviews, Donald revealed how each player on Team Europe declined the additional payments. He shared (via Sky Sports): “This came up and I wanted to get ahead of it and talk to the 12 guys in Rome when it looked like the US were going to do something different with payments. Every one of them was just like ‘we don’t want to get paid – this isn’t a week to get paid’. We have such a strong purpose in this team and what we play for.”Luke Donald added that he prefers to ‘reinvest’ in the players’ experiences. He reiterated that these experiences are worth more than the money gained.