The Ryder Cup makes a lot of money for the PGA of America. Here’s where it’s going

Former PGA of America President Ted Bishop was involved in the selection of Bethpage Black for the next Ryder Cup and is well aware of the importance of bringing the competition to the New York City area.

And he is well aware of the criticism of ticket priceswhich will be $750 per person for race days.

“If you go to a major sporting event, I don’t care where it is, this is pretty much what the ticket market is like,” Bishop said. Sports illustrated in an extensive interview, ten years after his ouster from his position at the PGA. “My daughter lives in New York and wants to go to the World Series and they go to the upper deck for $1,100.

“Next to the Masters, it is probably one of the most coveted tickets in golf. It’s once every four years (in the United States). I’m not going to criticize the PGA of America in any way. It is a very crucial part of the operating budget. When we made the decision to play the Ryder Cup and the PGA Championship there in 2013 (in 2019), the Ryder Cup was really the crown jewel. We knew it would be such a Ryder Cup.”

As for its importance, Bishop says that a decade ago the PGA of America typically grossed about $10 million for an international Ryder Cup and about $25 million for a domestic event — not including television rights revenue.

“What we would do is take that $35 million and distribute it over a four-year period. And if you break that down, when I was president, the PGA of America had an annual budget of $156 million,” Bishop says. “So that was $8.75 million per year and an important driver for our association.”

How much of that goes to the PGA of America professionals across the country? None of that directly. But Bishop said each of the 41 chapters will receive an annual payment that was increased from $90,000 to $180,000 plus an annual percentage increase in the wake of the 15-year, $440 million television deal (through 2030) negotiated during his tenure.

What about the players who participate? They also receive no direct compensation, aside from $200,000 in charitable donations that they can spend wherever they want.

But Bishop pointed out that the PGA Tour will get 20% of the PGA’s U.S. Ryder Cup TV revenue, or about $88 million over the life of the contract. That amounts to just under $6 million per year.

“I don’t know if the players at the time really understood that there was money coming back into the Tour, but Tim Finchem (commissioner at the time) explained it well,” Bishop said. “Those twelve guys are not paid directly, but the Tour as a whole was paid quite well.”

The Tour has previously said that the money it receives from the PGA of America will be used for compensation throughout the Tour, including the pension plan.