Shane Lowry backs Rory McIlroy in rejecting £315,000 offer and wants to play for free

Shane Lowry has supported stance and insisted he is not concerned about earning money for playing in the Ryder Cup.

Reports suggest that Team USA players could be set to land a a for the 2025 event after a pay row escalated during the tournament last year.

It is claimed the American golfers could fetch up to £315,000 ($400,000) each for participating in the three-day event at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, which is scheduled to begin on September 26, 2025.

But four-time major winner McIlroy said just for the honour of playing in the prestigious tournament and indicated he maintained support of his peers not to receive a fee, following talks with captain Luke Donald.

"I personally would pay for the privilege to play on the Ryder Cup," McIlroy said. "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."

Lowry, 37, reinforced McIlroy's view that the financial aspect is not a motivating factor in his decision to play as he prepares for his third edition of the Ryder Cup.

"I don't really care whether I did [get paid] or not, to be honest. The Ryder Cup is a privilege, and it's what I work for," Lowry said.

"It's what I've worked for for the last 10, 15 years, to be able to play Ryder Cups, and I've been fortunate to do two of them and have great experiences at them and build my brand playing Ryder Cups.

"I love the tournament, and I just want to be involved. I don't care whether I get paid or not."

The pair, who played together at the 2024 Olympics with Ireland, are established members of the European team. McIlroy has been part of every European lineup since his debut in 2010, winning 12 of his 24 matches overall. Lowry, meanwhile, has 1.5 points from three matches.

The issue of financial remuneration has proved to be a point of tension between the two teams, after McIlroy and Lowry were caught up in a heated confrontation with Patrick Cantlay's caddie Joe LaCava in Rome last year.

It was alleged at the time that Cantlay was not wearing his Team USA cap in protest of not being paid, which filtered to the fans at Marco Simone and caused Europe supporters to jeer Cantlay.

On the 18th green, LaCava waved his hat in celebration when Cantlay holed a birdie and he got in and amongst McIlroy's personal space as he lined up a putt.

It eventually took an intervention from Lowry to prevent LaCava and McIlroy from coming to blows, and it remains to be seen whether that tension will have eroded away when they meet again next year.