When it was announced that Viktor Hovland would not be able to compete on Sunday at the Ryder Cup due to injury, few would have ever anticipated just how crucial the result would prove to be.
Concerns about Viktor Hovland began on Saturday afternoon at Bethpage, with the Norwegian replaced in the fourballs by Tyrrell Hatton. He was initially drawn in the anchor match against Harris English ahead of the singles.
It turned out that Hovland was not able to play. And due to Ryder Cup rules, it meant that his match with English was tied, leaving Europe needing just two points to retain the trophy. Ultimately, they would only get three more after a chaotic final day in New York.
The envelope rule – where a captain nominates a player to sit out a singles match in the case of an injury on the opposite team – has been used before. So it certainly came across as sour grapes when Keegan Bradley insisted that the rule needed changing before the next Ryder Cup.
Paul McGinley comments on the Ryder Cup’s envelope rule after Viktor Hovland withdrew with injury
Clearly, Hovland was not faking an injury. The last thing Europe would have wanted was for any sort of asterisk to appear against their historic win.
But you could also understand the Americans’ disappointment. Strange things happen in the Ryder Cup, and had English found himself 3 up when Europe were against the ropes, the pressure would have ramped up just that little bit more.
However, speaking on 5 Clubs, Paul McGinley claimed that there is only possible change which can be made to the rule, as he explained the problem with bringing in a substitute.
“I think the rule is great the way it is. It’s been there historically. Both sides have benefitted over the years, but it needs to be reviewed and there needs to be an honest conversation when the next two captains get in place, before the captains’ agreement is signed,” he said.
“There needs to be an honest conversation from both sides. Obviously, what’s going on here is a bit of suspicion. Although we were seven points ahead and nobody gave America a chance on Sunday, being awarded a half point from one of our players not playing was, of course, advantageous to us. But there was absolutely nothing sinister behind that. However, that doesn’t stop some people from being a little bit suspicious of what went on. If there’s suspicion involved – we had suspicion in 1991 when Steve Pate pulled out, whether it’s right or not, it doesn’t matter, we had suspicion. Whether it was right this time or not doesn’t matter, America had suspicion. So both sides have been suspicious of the other side.
“My view would be an open and honest conversation between the two captains before the captains’ agreement is signed, so they know exactly what’s happening. Remember, both captains can change this agreement, there’s things that can be changed in it. The two next captains need to have that conversation. If they decide that if somebody gets injured, award the point the other way, so be it.
“I don’t agree with bringing in a 13th player because again, that’s going to go back to the word suspicion. The problem is it’ll be about suspicion. The reason why players get the pin positions on a Monday now was because of suspicion on both sides that the other side was controlling the pin positions depending on where the match was played. So they take away that suspicion, both teams now get it on a Monday. If there’s suspicion on both sides about somebody trying to pull a fast one, by putting a 13th man in, you’re going back to the world of suspicion again, because somebody could be playing poorly and all of a sudden, they get an injury on a Sunday and they have to pull out. Now we’re back in the world of suspicion again. So it’s either got to be continue where it is and both captains agree, move it to a point awarded against the team that have the injured player, and sign the agreement and move on. It’s got to be one or the other, it can’t be somewhere in the middle where suspicion is the problem.”
What Keegan Bradley should have done differently after voicing his frustration with the envelope rule
While you could certainly have sympathy for Team USA, and English in particular, it was not a good look from Bradley to only hit out at the rule after it had hurt his team.
If he was that passionate about the situation, then he should have certainly voiced his concerns before the event. It is not as though he would have had no idea about it having nominated English to sit out.
This past week may prove to be a turning point for the Ryder Cup. A forfeited match in the Solheim Cup sees the injured player lose 10&8, with Karen Stupples delivering a crucial point for Europe in 2011 when Cristie Kerr was unable to compete.
That arguably appears to be the fairest way forward when it comes to the Ryder Cup. And perhaps it would be no surprise if that ends up being what the captains agree upon for 2027.
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