- Viktor Hovland of Team Europe withdrew from his Sunday singles match due to a neck injury.
- The withdrawal invoked the ‘envelope rule,’ resulting in a halved match against Harris English of the United States.
- Hovland’s injury was diagnosed as a disc bulge in his neck following an MRI scan.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — The final match of the 2025 Ryder Cup was scheduled to be Europe’s Viktor Hovland against Harris English of the United States.
Instead, there will be no 12th match during Ryder Cup Sunday, as Hovland was scratched with a neck injury for the second consecutive day.
That invoked the mystical Ryder Cup ‘envelope rule,’ in which each side’s captain must submit an envelope with one player’s name should the other side have a player who must withdraw due to injury or illness at the start of the week. That unlucky player is then ‘paired’ with the withdrawn opposition and the matched is halved (worth .5 points).
For the Americans, that turned out to be English, who was originally paired with Hovland and therefore won’t affect the other matchups.
Hovland and foursome (alternate shot) partner Robert MacIntyre lost during the Friday morning session to Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. But the duo rebounded with a massive victory over Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler in the Saturday morning foursome session. Hovland drained a key birdie putt on hole No. 16 to tie the hole and keep his side’s one-up advantage, which he and MacIntyre held for the full point.
With the match halved, the score entering the singles matches is 12-5.
Hovland, from Norway, has been dealing with the neck injury since June and, despite winning Saturday morning, he had to withdraw from the Saturday afternoon fourballs (best ball), with Tyrrell Hatton replacing him in the final match alongside Matt Fitzpatrick.
Hovland underwent an MRI scan Saturday night at a local hospital and woke up Sunday morning unable to move his neck, according to a Ryder Cup statement. The imaging showed a disc bulge in his neck. That didn’t stop Hovland from trying to warm up at the course, ‘but due to limited movement, he had to inform captain Luke Donald that he will be unable to play.’
‘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,’ Hovland said in the statement. ‘Not being able to do so is pretty heartbreaking. I will be backing my team as hard as I can and rooting them on.’