Viktor Hovland admits the circumstances that led to him missing the final day of Bethpage Black’s European Ryder Cup win, and the withdrawal of American player Harris English due to the “envelope rule”, were “very annoying”.
A neck injury suffered during Saturday’s foursomes in New York led to Hovland missing the fours that afternoon in New York and eventually the singles on Sunday as well.
Ryder Cup rules stipulate that the opposing team must nominate a player to miss the singles matches in the event of an injury, and the unlucky golfer on this occasion was the Englishman, whose name was put in an envelope by US captain Keegan Bradley.
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
Hovland hits a decisive shot to secure Europe a four-legged Ryder Cup session – but did his celebration cause his injury?
Hovland and English then had half a point each.
The Norwegian said ahead of his return to action at the DP World India Championship in Delhi from Thursday, live Sky Sports: “The whole situation was very upsetting, just the fact that I couldn’t play and that I felt bad for Harris.
“He couldn’t play, and he was upset about that, so I feel really bad about not being able to compete. It’s tough.”
“I don’t think there’s any perfect way to do this.”
Speaking after the USA’s 15-13 defeat to Europe, Bradley said the “envelope rule”, which was first introduced in 1979 but has only been called for three times, “has to change”.
In the Solheim Cup – the women’s equivalent of the Ryder Cup – there is no such rule as the opponent is awarded a full point if a player is unable to compete.
Please use Chrome browser for an easily accessible video player
Ryder Cup captains Keegan Bradley and Luke Donald have their say on the ‘envelope rule’ that kept Hovland and Harris-English out of Sunday’s singles matches
“I think it’s a gentlemen’s agreement, ‘OK, this time I got hurt and maybe next time it’s someone on the U.S. team,’ and we’re all sympathetic to that person getting hurt and not being able to play,” Hovland said Tuesday.
“I think there’s a mutual understanding that if we’re healthy we’ll all go out and play. I don’t think people are using that to game the system and try to sneak in.”
“I don’t think there’s any perfect way to do it. I think this is an overall better way to do it, as difficult as the situation is.”
Hovland hopes to protect his neck by using his driver sparingly at DP World Championship for India, live on Sky Sports
On his fitness ahead of this week’s event in India, Hovland added: “I took about a week and a half off after the Ryder Cup and didn’t really touch any clubs.
“I was running out of time to decide if I wanted to come. I had played two rounds of 18 holes in a row, and my neck felt fine, so I decided to give it a shot.
“One of the big things is that you don’t have to hit the driver here, at least not that much. This helps my neck because it’s the driver that’s causing me the most pain.”
Watch DP World Championship India live Sky Sports From Thursday to Sunday. Day 1 coverage begins at 7.30am Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more golf without contracts with NOW.
https://e0.365dm.com/25/09/1600×900/skysports-viktor-hovland-team-europe_7033312.jpg?20250927144530
Source link