Xander Schauffele, a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team that unfortunately fell short, found himself on the brink of losing his spot on the team due to a contract dispute, as revealed by his father, Stefan Schauffele, in an interview with The Times.
According to Stefan, the PGA employed what he described as “strong-arming tactics,” and the contract dispute was only resolved a few weeks before the Ryder Cup commenced in Rome, Italy. Xander, who had initially qualified for the team, faced uncertainty regarding his position due to disagreements surrounding the player participation and benefit agreement.
Stefan explained that Xander and his close friend and fellow Ryder Cup member, Patrick Cantlay, had requested amendments to three aspects of the agreement. One of these involved access granted to a Netflix crew for their “Full Swing” documentary. Notably, Captain Zach Johnson and the team unanimously decided to deny access to their team room.
“The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about (the three amendments), 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.” : Stefan told The Times.
Xander Schauffele nearly kicked off Ryder Cup team over contract dispute https://t.co/77MJoF1MWw pic.twitter.com/wMobbX2UbT
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) October 2, 2023
Stefan expressed frustration at the PGA of America’s reluctance to engage in discussions regarding these amendments. He noted that it was only close to the deadline, shortly before the team’s practice in Rome, that they connected with the PGA of America’s legal counsel to resolve the issue.
Stefan also highlighted concerns about compensation, emphasizing that Ryder Cup participants do not receive payment apart from a donation amount. He called for open dialogue about these matters to improve the overall Ryder Cup experience and advocated for transparency in how Ryder Cup proceeds are distributed.
Regarding the issue of pay, Stefan noted that the use of players’ intellectual properties to generate revenue is a concern, especially when American players don’t receive compensation. He suggested that donating net proceeds from the Ryder Cup to charitable causes could help address this issue and ensure fair treatment for the players.
