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There’s already some controversy surrounding the 2025 Ryder Cup due to the staggering amount of money you’ll have to fork over to attend the event as a spectator, and a man who had a hand in setting the ticket prices did what he could to justify them.
We’re less than a year away from the start of the next Ryder Cup, which will be returning to American soil in 2025 and officially kick off on September 26th at the iconic Bethpage Black on Long Island.
With the very notable exception of The Masters, the Ryder Cup is probably the hottest ticket in golf, as it’s historically boasted an atmosphere that rivals the Waste Management Open in Phoenix thanks to the electric crowds fueled by the passion that’s injected into an event where golfers representing Europe and the United States leave it all on the course while primarily playing for bragging rights.
American captain Keegan Bradley recently warned fans to be on their best behavior at the 2025 Ryder Cup as the event gears up to crack down on spectators who’ve crossed the line while rooting for their country (or continent), and we recently learned anyone who makes the trek to Bethpage Black will have some extra incentive due to how much they’ll need to pay to get in.
Potential attendees can currently apply to land Ryder Cup tickets that will be randomly allotted toward the beginning of November, but plenty of people got sticker shock after discovering the PGA of America opted to charge $750 to attend a single day of competition during the actual tournament (the practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday will run you $225, while Thursday—which boasts celebrity matches and the Opening Ceremony—are going for around $425).
That price does include unlimited food and non-alcoholic drinks, but it’s still pretty steep when you consider it cost around $185 to get into Whistling Straights for the 2021 Ryder Cup.
Why did the price spike so dramatically? Well, PGA of America’s Championship Director Bryan Karns did what he could to explain the reasoning during a chat with SiriusXM on Wednesday.
Bryan Karns (@bryankarns), Championship Director at @PGA, joined Taylor Zarzour to discuss @rydercup ticket pricing:
“The demand is at an all-time high for this event and so we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately.” pic.twitter.com/JwgiXOr5rd
— SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio (@SiriusXMPGATOUR) October 16, 2024
Here’s what he had to say:
“We view ourselves as a Tier 1 event that’s on par with the World Series or an NBA Finals Game 7. That was a part of it.
When we look at pricing, we’re able to tap into data from all of these different venues. Our partner, Delaware North, they operate the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Lambeau Field. We’re able to see, ‘Hey, what do people pay?’ That really drove this…
There are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list in the same way someone would have a Yankees opening game World Series on their bucket list… The demand is at an all-time high for this event, and we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately.”
I’m sure Karns’ business school professors will be thrilled to hear about the decision to comb through data to figure out the highest possible price the Ryder Cup could get away with charging, but I can’t imagine that explanation is going to do much to assuage people who are going to be priced out.