Viktor Hovland has been ruled out of the final day of the 2025 Ryder Cup due to a neck injury, and the ‘Envelope Rule’ has been enacted
Harris English has been ruled out of the final round of the 2025 Ryder Cup due to the ‘Envelope Rule’, following Viktor Hovland’s withdrawal.
Norwegian golfer Hovland was forced to bow out of Saturday evening’s fourball session due to a neck injury, leaving Team Europe captain Luke Donald in a state of worry over his condition for Sunday. He was subsequently taken away for further medical examination.
Just half an hour before Sunday’s singles session, it was announced that Hovland, who had put on an impressive performance on Friday and Saturday morning, was compelled to withdraw. Hovland had played a significant role in Team Europe’s domination over Team USA in the first three sessions.
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This led to Team USA having to withdraw a player, with Bradley choosing Ryder Cup newcomer English. Express US Sport has provided an explanation of what the Ryder Cup envelope rule actually entails.
What is the Envelope Rule?
Before the commencement of the Ryder Cup, each captain writes down the name of one player and places it in an envelope, to be used in the unlikely event of a player withdrawing from the Sunday session.
If a player from one team is forced to withdraw, the other team presents their envelope player to be matched against them.
The player whose name is written down is essentially excluded from the Sunday session, and is paired against the injured player, resulting in neither playing and the voided game being declared a tie.
Each team’s total is increased by half a point. Hovland’s withdrawal means Europe begins the session on 12 points, while Team USA starts on 5.
Since English was Bradley’s nominated player ahead of the Ryder Cup, he’ll sit out Sunday’s action and split a point with the crocked Hovland.
A gutted Hovland said: “There is nothing more I would like to do than be out there representing Team Europe and trying to help them win the Ryder Cup today.
“Not being able to do so is pretty heartbreaking. I will be backing my team as hard as I can and rooting them on.”
