Golf fans who want to attend next year’s Ryder Cup through the event’s “random selection process” will have to pay $750 for day tickets to the actual match. The cost of attending Bethpage Black in New York, where Europe looks to defend the trophy won in Rome last year, is likely to only add to the sense that the Ryder Cup is rewarding casual golf fans as it moves towards the corporate classes. The online backlash has proven fierce.
Those who have not yet purchased Bethpage tickets can register for free via the official Ryder Cup site for the random allocation. Successful registrations for the September event will be notified early next month. Only single tickets have been made available for each day, although those chosen through the ballot may be able to purchase as many as four if they can afford them.
Practice days on Tuesdays and Wednesdays cost $255.27. That figure rises to $423.64 for Thursday, which includes the Junior Ryder Cup, celebrity matches and the opening ceremony. For Friday, Saturday and Sunday the cost is $749.51 per day. The organizers are kind enough to point out that the price includes fees and New York sales tax. Standard match day tickets for Rome cost just over £200.
This time, the Ryder Cup+ package includes food and non-alcoholic drinks. The terms and conditions state: “When you are ready for a meal, you can redeem one entrée, one snack and one non-alcoholic drink per visit to a market concession – and feel free to come back as many times as you like. Alcoholic drinks are also available for purchase.”
The Ryder Cup is typically a cash cow for the PGA of America or the European Tour Group, depending on the host venue. However, in his strategic report accompanying the recently published reports, Eric Nicoli, chairman of the European Tour Group, specifically addressed the challenges of the Ryder Cup, despite the presence of more than 270,000 in attendance in Rome.
Nicoli said: “The Ryder Cup staging budget experienced significant macroeconomic pressure, driven by post-Covid supply chain challenges and disruption caused by the war in Ukraine, with inflation rising to +22% compared to Paris 2018. In addition, there was complexity of operating in a country not used to hosting large-scale greenfield events. This led to a 35% increase in operating costs compared to Paris 2018.
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“Nevertheless, strong revenue increases across all key Ryder Cup revenue streams (ticketing, sponsorship, merchandise, digital and media rights) helped offset these cost pressures.”