Xander Schauffele insists all of Team USA are happy to give away all of their Ryder Cup payments to charity, but they will still "take a lot of c**p" over the entire situation.
The two-time Major champion is starting his 2025 PGA Tour season at The Sentry in Hawaii, but the Ryder Cup remains a hot topic for debate.
Team USA players will get a $500,00 a man payment from the PGA of America - news which sparked a big debate and led to plenty of criticism for the Americans who will tee it up at Bethpage Black.
However, Schauffele says that players being able to pocket the half a million dollars was never the aim.
$300,000 of the payment will automatically go to charity, but even the remaining $200,000 stipend, which players can use as they see fit, will go to charitable causes, according to Schauffele.
Last year's PGA Championship and Open winner says that American players are suffering from a misconception that they're seeking money for their own bank balances - when in truth they're just adding more funds for charity.
"I just see it as a whole lot of money going to charity and we're going to take a lot of c**p," Schauffele was quoted as saying by the Associated Press in Hawaii.
Schauffele insists that USA captain Keegan Bradley had been working on a plan for the team to make a special donation to charity - only for the leak of the extra payments to lead to a change in the narrative.
"I’m looking at it as an opportunity to give away more money,” Schauffele added. “It’s never going to be perceived that way, just with how the media talks about stuff and how things shook down in Italy.
"It’s going to go to charity. I spoke to Keegan and he had a plan before, and that got blown up by the leak of the whole thing.
“Keegan had a plan to get all the boys to do something really nice,” he said. “And now everyone is pointing fingers on how this thing has shaken down.
"Learning from the PGA Tour, we’re going to give back to the community however we can help, whether it’s the Fire Department or NYPD or you name it. Keegan is from the Northeast, and we’ll take his lead.”
Pay row to add "juice" to Ryder Cup
Although unhappy in how the entire saga has played out in the media, Schauffele believes one good thing to come out of it is to add even more spice to the Ryder Cup rivalry for the event in New York later this year.
"We're used to playing in these team events and not getting paid and giving our portion away happily. It's a really nice thing we can do," he added.
"We make plenty of money throughout the year, so we're happy to give money when we can.
"The way the whole thing is shaking down, it's good for this big rivalry. And it's going to be better for the Ryder Cup.
"Whenever there's a feud, what happens? It juices everything up around it. The Ryder Cup is going to do better because of this thing."
Schauffele is star name and betting favourite to win at in Hawaii this week, but he's not made the shortlist for our Golf Monthly betting picks for The Sentry.
