FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Europe made a late switch to its Saturday afternoon lineup at the Ryder Cup because Viktor Hovland had neck pain, an injury he said has bothered him on and off for a couple of months.
Hovland teamed with Robert MacIntyre for a 1-up victory over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in the morning and originally was listed to play with Matt Fitzpatrick in the afternoon. But Fitzpatrick ended up going out with Tyrrell Hatton against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.
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During the morning, Hovland took painkillers and received treatment, which didn’t help enough.
“It stayed the same for the remainder of the match after that,” Hovland said. “But I came in and rested up and got some more treatment and when I went back out onto the range, I tried hitting some shots trying to build up to the driver. I hit three or four hard ones and it just got worse.
“I didn’t want to risk it for the match in case it got worse and I couldn’t continue, especially in fourballs when you are hitting every shot.”
Luke Donald was able to make the switch because of an item in the captains’ agreement that says “in the event of illness, injury or other emergency reason to a player selected to play in a match, he may be substituted by another member of the team previously not selected, prior to the commencement of this match.”
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Hovland withdrew after two holes of his final round of the Travelers Championship in June because of a similar injury.
“I’m going to get some treatment this afternoon and tonight and hopefully I will be OK for the singles tomorrow,” he said.
Rookie Cameron Young makes a little U.S. history
Cameron Young has been one of the rare bright spots for the U.S. in his Ryder Cup debut. After the New York native and Justin Thomas won their fourballs match Friday, he and Bryson DeChambeau defeated Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Åberg in foursomes Saturday.
“Cam played unbelievable,” DeChambeau said. “Cam just struck it unbelievable today with his irons. It was nice having a couple of 2-footers to tap in, so it was sweet.”
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Young is the first American rookie to win each of his first two Ryder Cup matches by at least four holes since Patrick Reed. The only U.S. players to do it in three in a row are Arnold Palmer from 1961-63, Tom Watson from ‘77-81 and Tedd Kroll from ’55-57.
Ben Griffin and Rasmus Hojgaard get the day off
Only two of the 24 players involved did not take part in either foursomes or fourballs Saturday: Ben Griffin for the U.S. and Rasmus Hojgaard for Europe. Hojgaard is the only new member of his team from two years ago in Rome, replacing twin brother Nicolai, while Griffin is one of four rookies on his.
Asked if not using Hojgaard was a change from his initial strategy, Donald said: “Saturday is always a little bit more fluid. We have four really strong groups.”
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It has been common for Europe to have two or three players take part in foursomes and fourballs twice and singles and less so for the U.S. With captain Keegan Bradley leaning on his top guys, DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay are set to play all five, the first time for the Americans since Thomas, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth in 2018.
Bethpage is not the warning-sign worthy beast, as players expected
The warning sign at Bethpage Black cautions the public that it’s an extremely difficult course recommended ”only for highly skilled golfers.” It’s considered the toughest municipal track in the country.
Before the Ryder Cup began, American Harris English estimated soft conditions and a favorable setup would put winning scores up to 20-under par in a regular, four-round PGA Tour stroke-play tournament. He’s not wrong about the beast being tamed, thanks in part to a deluge of rain during the week after the rough was cut down to a manageable 2 inches and some of the tee boxes moved up.
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According to Data Golf, 14 of 18 holes are playing under par. The 519-yard, par-5 No. 4 has been the best-scoring, with 21 birdies through the first three sessions.
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AP Ryder Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/ryder-cup
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