Ryder Cup chief told he's 'delusional' after defending 'outrageous' ticket prices
The PGA of America's championship director, Bryan Karns, has defended the ticket prices for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York.
The PGA of America's championship director has fiercely defended the Ryder Cup ticket prices after facing a fierce backlash.
Earlier in the week it was revealed how much it will cost you if you want to attend the 2025 contest at Bethpage Black in New York next September.
If you want to go on your own in one of the tournament days, it will cost you $749.51.
The cheapest ticket available is $225.27 for one of the practice days.
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Bryan Karns, the governing body's championship director, has given his thoughts on the topic in an interview with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio.
He compared the Ryder Cup to a 'Tier 1' sporting event akin to the NBA Finals or MLB World Series.
Karns said: "We looked at pricing and we were able to tap into data from all these different venues.
"And we were able to see what people pay, and that really drove this.
"In terms of our position in this landscape – where do we feel ourselves?
"There are people who have the Ryder Cup on their bucket list in the same way someone would have a Yankees opening game of the World Series on their bucket list.
"Ultimately that's where we felt like we are.
"We've got a lot of people, the demand is at an all-time high for this event and so we wanted to make sure we priced it appropriately."
He continued: "We knew that it was going to be critical to get this right and to try to do something that we felt was on par with where we viewed ourselves and where our position was in this world.
"But at the same time, understanding there is some nuance to Ryder Cup tickets.
Date | Price |
Tuesday, 23 September | $255.27 |
Wednesday, 24 September | $255.27 |
Thursday, 25 September | $423.64 |
Friday, 26 September | $749.51 |
Saturday, 27 September | $749.51 |
Sunday, 28 September | $749.51 |
"It's a full day event versus three hours. It's without a seat, but a GA ticket allows you the chance to be on a rope line, compared to if I bought the standing room only at Yankee Stadium.
"So we try to factor all those in. And it's never as simple as saying it’s apples to apples. But we we took a lot of feedback and got to this point where we felt like, look, this is this is what we feel confident in.
"When you get into a situation where the demand is so high, you want to do your best to price it so you don’t create this massively inflated secondary market."
Listen to the interview here:
Unsurprisingly, his comments were met with a dim response.
Here's some reaction:
"Pricing out all but the wealthy and the elite. No need to invite grass roots fans or kids. This is the opposite of growing the game and is a terrible look for the PGA of America and the Ryder Cup."
"Appropriately?! The arrogance of the elite at the top of golf."
"Delusional."
Tickets for the 2025 Ryder Cup go on sale in November.
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