By Robbie Butler]
Viktor Hovland was forced to withdraw from his singles match at the Ryder Cup after aggravating a neck injury he has been dealing with for several months. The issue first flared up during Saturday’s foursomes, when he felt pain and stiffness, and despite treatment he couldn’t recover in time for Sunday. An MRI revealed a bulging disc, and while he attempted to warm up for his scheduled match against Harris English, he ultimately couldn’t rotate his neck enough to compete.
I did not know this before yesterday, but the Ryder Cup has a special safeguard for these situations. Rule 3.d of the Ryder Cup Captains’ Agreement states: “When the Captains lodge their team selection for singles play, they must 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. Such pairing is regarded as a tied match.”
Before the singles session, each captain submits one name in a sealed envelope as a backup. If a player on the opposing team is unable to play, the named player from the other side also sits out, and the match is automatically halved. In this case, English was the unlucky American drawn, meaning his contest with Hovland was scratched and each team was awarded half a point. The rule meant only 11 singles matches were contested instead of the usual 12, something that hasn’t happened in decades – I’ll return to this shortly.
I was surprised that Europe won ½ a point, but that is the formal rule, despite some criticism from the U.S. side, with calls to review whether halving the match is fair compared to simply awarding a full point to the fit player. The half-point allocation left Europe and the U.S. on 12–5. Just two more points would be needed for Europe to retain the trophy. Although the U.S. staged a spirited fightback in the singles session, Europe managed to hold on, eventually clinching a 15–13 victory. Even allocating the U.S. a full point would have left the outcome unchanged, with the final score reading 14.5–13.5.
And the U.S. needs to recall 1991 at Kiawah Island. American golfer Steve Pate was unable to play in the Sunday singles. His match with David Gilford was deemed a tie – ½ point each. Had Europe been awarded the full point – as the U.S. argued for yesterday – the score in 1991 would have ended 14–14 rather than 14.5–13.5. The outcome would have been a draw, rather than a U.S. win. A draw would have meant the holders retained the trophy. The 1989 Ryder Cup was also a draw, so the last winners had been Europe in 1987 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. A famous European victory courtesy of an Irishman in Dublin – how apt. In that case, Europe would have retained the trophy in 1991 rather than lost, and Bernhard Langer’s career would be remembered for different reasons by some.
As economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.” And in golf.
Viktor Hovland was forced to withdraw from his singles match at the Ryder Cup after aggravating a neck injury he has been dealing with for several months. The issue first flared up during Saturday’s foursomes, when he felt pain and stiffness, and despite treatment he couldn’t recover in time for Sunday. An MRI revealed a bulging disc, and while he attempted to warm up for his scheduled match against Harris English, he ultimately couldn’t rotate his neck enough to compete.
I did not know this before yesterday, but the Ryder Cup has a special safeguard for these situations. Rule 3.d of the Ryder Cup Captains’ Agreement states: “When the Captains lodge their team selection for singles play, they must 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. Such pairing is regarded as a tied match.”
Before the singles session, each captain submits one name in a sealed envelope as a backup. If a player on the opposing team is unable to play, the named player from the other side also sits out, and the match is automatically halved. In this case, English was the unlucky American drawn, meaning his contest with Hovland was scratched and each team was awarded half a point. The rule meant only 11 singles matches were contested instead of the usual 12, something that hasn’t happened in decades – I’ll return to this shortly.
I was surprised that Europe won ½ a point, but that is the formal rule, despite some criticism from the U.S. side, with calls to review whether halving the match is fair compared to simply awarding a full point to the fit player. The half-point allocation left Europe and the U.S. on 12–5. Just two more points would be needed for Europe to retain the trophy. Although the U.S. staged a spirited fightback in the singles session, Europe managed to hold on, eventually clinching a 15–13 victory. Even allocating the U.S. a full point would have left the outcome unchanged, with the final score reading 14.5–13.5.
And the U.S. needs to recall 1991 at Kiawah Island. American golfer Steve Pate was unable to play in the Sunday singles. His match with David Gilford was deemed a tie – ½ point each. Had Europe been awarded the full point – as the U.S. argued for yesterday – the score in 1991 would have ended 14–14 rather than 14.5–13.5. The outcome would have been a draw, rather than a U.S. win. A draw would have meant the holders retained the trophy. The 1989 Ryder Cup was also a draw, so the last winners had been Europe in 1987 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. A famous European victory courtesy of an Irishman in Dublin – how apt. In that case, Europe would have retained the trophy in 1991 rather than lost, and Bernhard Langer’s career would be remembered for different reasons by some.
As economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said, “Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.” And in golf.
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