Paige Spiranac claps back at former PGA Tour pro’s ‘out of touch’ response to US Ryder Cup players getting paid
Paige Spiranac recently hit back at PGA Tour professional Hunter Mahan, who supported the US players reportedly getting paid at the Ryder Cup. She claimed that Mahan was 'out of touch' with reality for believing $400K wasn't a lot of money.
Earlier this week, reports claimed the US team is set to receive $400K each for the 2025 Ryder Cup. This will be the first time players will be getting paid. While this didn’t sit well with the purists and fans of the game, Hunter Mahan came in support of the move. He said the money didn’t need to be huge but would give a sense of being rewarded for showcasing their skills.
However, former LPGA pro turned golf influencer Paige Spiranac took to X (formerly Twitter) on November 16 to slam Mahan for his statement.
"This is out of touch," she wrote. "It is reported that each US player will receive 400k for participating. That’s life changing money for so many people. For Hunter to say it doesn’t have to be a lot when 400k is a lot just isn’t a good look for golf in my opinion."
"The last couple years in golf have been so focused around money, but the Ryder Cup was the one event that was about so much more than the money," she added.
While Team US is set for a new chapter, the European counterparts don't believe in the same. Earlier European players like Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry said that it was a privilege to play at the Ryder Cup. McIlroy said he would pay to play at the event.
"I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup. The two purest forms of competition in our game right now are the Ryder Cup and the Olympics, and it's partly because of that, the purity of no money being involved," McIlroy told BBC Sport.
Lowry also maintained that he didn't care whether or not he got paid for playing in the Ryder Cup.
"It’s what I’ve worked for for the last ten, 15 years, to be able to play Ryder Cups," Lowry said as per Irish Independent. "And I’ve been fortunate to do two of them and have great experiences at them and build my brand playing Ryder Cups," he added.
Did Paige Spiranac ever compete in the Solheim Cup?
Paige Spiranac has never competed in the Solheim Cup during her brief professional career. She turned professional in 2015 and mostly played on the Cactus Tour, an unofficial mini-tour for women golfers that operates in the American Southwest.
Spiranac's only professional win came in 2015 after defeating Hannah O'Sullivan, the then No. 1 amateur golfer. The following year, she tried to earn an LPGA Tour card via the LPGA Qualifying event but failed to secure one. By the end of the year, she decided to hang up her clubs.
Since her retirement, Paige Spiranac has turned into a popular social media celebrity and golf influencer. She has over 4 million followers on Instagram and over 1 million on X. Spiranac has also done photoshoots for Sports Illustrated and Maxim.