Two weeks after his controversial withdrawal at the Ryder Cup, Viktor Hovland is back in action in the India Championship.
Hovland withdrew before the Sunday singles session at Bethpage Black after an MRI exam revealed a disc bulge in his neck. Because of the Ryder Cup captain’s agreement, his final match against American Harris English was considered a halve, with each side receiving a half-point in what became a 15-13 European victory.
Hovland called the situation “pretty upsetting,” not just for himself but also English, who went 0-2-1 and was forced to the sidelines on the last day. Hovland, who went 1-1-1 for the week, was also a late scratch for the Saturday fourballs session.
“I think we’re so used to in sports, if you can’t play because you’re hurt, obviously that should be a loss of point,” Hovland told reporters Tuesday in India. “But I think in the spirit of the Ryder Cup, and the spirt of the game and the history of it, knowing that this Ryder Cup is just a part of many, many Ryder Cups to come, I think it’s more of a gentleman’s agreement that, OK, you were hurt this time, and maybe the next time there’s a guy on the U.S. team is and we’re all kind of sympathetic about the person being hurt and not being able to play.
“I think there’s kind of a mutual understanding that if we were healthy, we would all go out there and play. I don’t think people are using that to really finagle the system and try and squeak by.”
In place in the Ryder Cup since 1979, the “Envelope Rule” hadn’t been used by a team since ’93. As the Americans staged a frenetic final-day rally at Bethpage, it appeared as though Hovland’s half-point for not competing might prove to be the difference, with Europe needing only 14 points to retain the cup.
That only further ramped up calls for the rule to be amended for the modern matches. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley, who signed the pre-match agreement with Luke Donald, said afterward that the rule needed to be changed before the 2027 edition.
“The rule has to change,” Bradley said. “I think it’s obvious to everybody in the sports world, in this room. Nothing against Viktor. But that rule needs to be changed by the next Ryder Cup.”
Bradley said he had “a few ideas” on how to change the rule but didn’t elaborate.
There isn’t an easy solution.
Each team carrying an alternate (13th man) also comes with its share of unintended consequences, with the potential for underperforming players to potentially fake an injury for the benefit of the team. Losing a full point for a withdrawal also could be tricky – knowing that the other team will want to send out on its best players early in the singles session to mount a comeback, Hovland said, the injured player could be slotted in the lineup as a “sacrificial lamb” and take the loss.
“I don’t think there’s any ideal to way to do it,” Hovland said, “but I think (a half-point each) is just a better way overall to do it, even though it’s just a tough situation. And at the end of the day, I think we’d all be wanting to go out there and play.”
As for how Hovland is feeling, he told reporters that he didn’t touch a club for a week and a half after the Ryder Cup to let his neck issue calm down. He played back-to-back rounds at home without much discomfort and decided to make the long flight to India, where he was relieved to find that he won’t have to hit many drivers because of Delhi Golf Club’s narrow corridors.
“That definitely helps my neck because it’s the driver that gives me the biggest amount of pain,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll stick to the 3-iron and the neck will be fine.”
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