Viktor Hovland has spoken out about the neck injury that forced him to sit out the Ryder Cup singles and insisted that the “envelope rule” is not used to “finagle the system”.
Speaking ahead of the DP World India Championship in Delhi, the Norwegian revealed that after taking 10 days off after Bethpage Black and then playing two rounds in a row, his neck “felt okay, so I decided to fly over here and give it a chance.”
Tight and treelined Delhi Golf Club will require few drivers, which means Hovland won’t have to put his neck under pressure.
But when asked about being unable to play on Sunday at the Ryder Cup, when his singles with Harris English was declared a half and US skipper Keegan Bradley later called for the rule to be changed, he insisted there was no ill intent by Europe.
“The whole situation was pretty upsetting, just the fact that I didn’t get to play, and I felt really bad for Harris, who also didn’t get to play a match, even though there was nothing wrong with him,” Hovland revealed. “He just didn’t get to play, and he was upset about that, and I feel very bad for not being able to compete.
“It’s tough. I think we’re so used to in sports that if you can’t play because you’re hurt, obviously that should be a loss of point. But I think in the spirit of the Ryder Cup and the spirit 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 gentlemen’s agreement that okay, you were hurt this time and maybe the next time there’s a guy on the US’s team and we’re all kind of sympathetic about the person being hurt and not being able to play.”
Bradley was upset following his side’s 15-13 defeat that Hovland’s injury meant that the Norwegian’s singles match would be declared a half , leaving Europe needing just two points from the remaining 11 matches to retain the trophy and only 2.5 points to win.
This stems from an agreement whereby the captains, when lodging their singles line ups, are asked to provide a sealed envelope containing the name of one player who is regarded as having been paired with a player who, through illness, injury or other emergency reason, has to withdraw from the other side.
