Rory McIlroy says he would pay to play in Ryder Cup amidst reports of Team USA being paid to compete

The Holywood man says he believes that the Ryder Cup and Olympics are "the two purest forms of competition in our game right now."

Speaking to BBC Radio at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, the 35-year-old said: “I personally would pay for the privilege.

“I've talked about this a lot. I think 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.

“Look, it was a discussion that was happening in Rome. I can see the other side of the argument because the Ryder Cup does create, as you know, a lot of revenue.

“It’s one of the probably top five biggest sporting events in the world. So I get the argument that the talent you know should be or could be getting paid.

“But I just think that the Ryder Cup is so much more than that, especially to the Europeans and to this tour.

“We've all had a conversation about it over the past few weeks, because we obviously heard, and I think the common consensus amongst us is that, you know, whatever that would be to pay the team $5 million would be better off spent elsewhere on the DP World Tour to support other events, even to support the Challenge Tour.

“So, yeah, I don't think any of the Europeans who are players… I think for us, I don't want to say, taints it, but it would give it a different feel.

“And I think what we've done a really good job of it, is being this really cohesive, collective group over the past decade, and we wouldn't want anything to change that.“

Shane Lowry, who currently sits joint-20th in the DP World Tour Championship, echoed a similar sentiment to McIlroy.

“It’s what I’ve worked for for the last ten, 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 think, yeah, I love the tournament, and I just want to be involved. I don't care whether I get paid or not.”

Both men were part of Luke Donaldson's Team Europe at last year's Ryder Cup, which saw them claim victory of the USA in Rome.