Hats off to the greediest sportsmen on the planet — those American golfers know how to threaten a good thing.

For the better part of a century, and in the past couple of years in particular, the Ryder Cup has been able to position itself above the money-grabbing that has dominated the professional reaches of the sport. Both sides play for free and that has been a significant part of the charm.

But after decades of US stars testing that fence, led vocally by Tiger Woods and David Duval in previous versions of the debate, and via the hatless protests of Patrick Cantlay in Rome last year, Keegan Bradley’s team in the 2025 match are set to be paid upwards of £300,000 a man.

It is yet to be ratified and sources have insisted there are hurdles to clear first, not the least of which concerns the PGA of America, who oversee the US operation and are currently without a permanent chief executive to rubber stamp the proposal. When contacted by Mail Sport on Wednesday night, they declined to comment.

For now, there are no signs that their European counterparts would wish to follow suit. Rory McIlroy, for one, has previously trumpeted the ‘purity’ of the match for its absence of cash incentive and his captain, Luke Donald, is also emphatic in his belief there should be no strings attached.

Sure, they might get a few extra quid in the bank, but the Ryder Cup will lose a unique quality – being able to attract to players without offering cash

There is a perception that Team Europe care more as they perform above the sum of their parts while the US stars complain about the lack of financial incentive

But there will be a fascination in seeing if the American golfers grabbing a slice of the profits will scratch against existing positions and norms.

There has long been a perception that a key reason why Europe can perform above the sum of its parts in the biennial contest, as was the case as underdogs in Rome last year, is that it matters more to them. The spirit of Seve Ballesteros, while discussed in tones that are excessively syrupy every two years, was an embodiment of that very point.

By sporadically chuntering about wanting money to play, the US have rightly or wrongly been depicted in those conversations as being that bit less interested. In greater need of a push.

There is certainly a valid argument for the Cup’s vast profits to be distributed among the stars of the show — they are the performers. The fact that tickets for the next edition at Bethpage Black are being flogged for scandalous sums starting from $750 would also feed the view that if everyone else is cashing in on interest, why not share it around?

Under the current system in use by the US team, the PGA of America hands out $200,000 to each of their 12 players, with half allocated to charities of a player’s choosing and the other half going to golf programmes. Woods has previously suggested he would turn his slice of the cake over to the charity but advocated the view that they should be paid directly and the choice should be with the individual.

That will be positioned by the agitating golfers as fair. There will be many who chime with such a view. But it is worth contextualising a little here, because by far the lowest earning player on the US team in 2023, based on PGA Tour prize money last season, still pocketed £2.7million. That was Justin Thomas.

For the sake of an extra £300,000 or so in a golfer’s bank account, the contest would lose one of the Cup’s greatest and most unique qualities — its ability to bring together the world’s best players for something other than money.

At a time when so much of golf on both sides of the LIV row has sold itself out, it is a tremendous shame that petty greed remains undefeated.