Former PGA Tour pro slams Ryder Cup’s ticket pricing, says ‘corporations’ will take over the ‘bucket list deal’
The recently announced ticket pricing for the 2025 Ryder Cup has not sat well with both fans and experts. Former PGA Tour player turned sports commentator Smylie Kaufman is the latest name to criticize the organizers for high ticket prices.
A few days ago, the PGA of America announced their ticket pricing for the 2025 Ryder Cup. This time, fans will have to part with $750 to watch the action at Bethpage Black. This is the priciest the biennial event tickets have ever been, more than double the cost of last year's edition in Rome and four times greater than in 2021.
In his latest episode of the Smylie Show, Kaufman slammed the organizers for the high ticket prices for the next edition of the biennial event.
"This is pricing out the target audience that I feel like would make the atmosphere go from one level to the next," he said. "And that's the generation that the millennials, the people that are in their thirties and the twenties, like it's, you know, starting a family or people that are just getting out of college.
"The people that are going to create some energy in this thing, those are the folks that are going to have, you know, go out there, drink some beer, have a good time with their buddies. It is a bucket list deal, but it doesn't mean that it needs to be $750. Like, that is a lot of money, " he added.
He added that he would have cut the price to more than half and would keep it somewhere between $250 and $300.
"I feel like this is a too corporate," he continued. "the way these prices look to me, because corporations are going to gobble up these tickets and buy, buy these $750 tickets, no problem. Because why wouldn't you? It's one of the best events in the world to bring your clients out there to watch it out there is. You really can't beat that," he added.
PGA of America director defends $750 Ryder Cup ticket prices
While speaking to SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, PGA of America director Bryan Karns recently justified the price of the Ryder Cup tickets. He said that they view the Ryder Cup as a Tier 1 event, comparing it to the World Series or the NBA Finals.
"I mean, that was a part of it, and so again, when we look at pricing, we are able to tap into data from all these different venues," he said. "Again, our partner Delaware North they operate the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics. They operate Lambeau Field."
"We are able to see, 'hey, what do people pay?' And so that really drove this to again our position in this landscape, where do we feel ourselves, and I think that's the reality."
He added that there are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list, just like attending the opening game of the World Series.
The Ryder Cup 2025 is set to take place from September 23 to 28 next year at Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York.