Team Europe suffered a major setback on Sunday as Viktor Hovland was forced to withdraw from his Ryder Cup singles match due to a recurring neck injury. The incident triggered one of the Ryder Cup’s least-used provisions: the “envelope rule.”
Hovland, who had already missed Saturday’s afternoon session at Bethpage Black after being replaced by Tyrrell Hatton, awoke on Sunday with severe neck stiffness following an MRI at a local hospital. Despite attempting to warm up, the Norwegian quickly realized he could not compete against his scheduled opponent, Harris English.
“There’s nothing more I’d like to do than be out there representing Team Europe today,” Hovland said in a statement. “Not being able to play is heartbreaking, but I’ll be backing the team as hard as I can.”
Rather than conceding the match to the United States, the rarely-invoked envelope rule was applied. Under this rule, each captain submits a sealed name before Sunday’s singles matches in case of an opponent’s withdrawal due to injury or illness. If a player cannot compete, the designated name in the opposing captain’s envelope also sits out, and the match is recorded as a halved point.
The rule, first introduced in 1979, has only been enforced once before—at the 1991 Ryder Cup when American Steve Pate withdrew following a car accident, with Europe’s David Gilford sitting out as the corresponding pick.
As a result, English, who had lost both of his foursomes matches earlier in the week, was removed from Sunday’s lineup for Team USA. The Americans, already facing a monumental challenge, must now secure 9.5 points from just 11 matches to reclaim the Ryder Cup—a task many consider virtually impossible.
