Xander Schauffele nearly got the boot.
Schauffele, a member of the losing U.S. Ryder Cup team, nearly lost his team spot due to a contract dispute, his father, Stefan Schauffele, told The Times.
He told the publication the PGA used “strong-arming tactics,” and the contract issue was resolved just a few weeks before the Ryder Cup started in Rome, Italy.
Xander, who automatically qualified for the team, had his spot up in the air due to disagreements with the player participation and benefit agreement.
Stefan said that Xander and close friend, fellow Ryder Cup member Patrick Cantlay, asked for amendments in three spots within the agreement.
One related to the access to be granted a Netflix crew for their “Full Swing” documentary. Captain Zach Johnson and the team unanimously voted to block access to their team room.
“The PGA of America were not willing to even talk to us about (the three amendments),” Stefan 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.”
Stefan told the paper that compensation is an issue since Ryder Cup participants are not paid, aside from an amount to be donated.
“I think we have to have a meaningful conversation about it,” Stefan said. “This is a long game, maybe in two or three Ryder Cups when the parties have decided to come to the table, instead of leaving the elephant standing around in the middle of the golf course. It’s all about improving this product, instead of being secretive and non-communicative.
“The PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe need to be more transparent and disclose how this money from the Ryder Cup is being distributed.”
The issue of pay was rumored to be part of the reason why Cantlay – along with Xander – did not wear hats during the Ryder Cup.
“They are using players’ intellectual properties to make money and the American players don’t get paid,” Stefan said. “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.”