FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — (AP) — Viktor Hovland withdrew from his singles match Sunday in the Ryder Cup with a neck injury, which also meant Harris English had an early end to his week.
Hovland and English were scheduled to meet in the final match. Hovland had an MRI late Saturday that revealed a disc bulge in his neck. Under the captain's agreement, that will be considered a halve.
“He's gutted,” European captain Luke Donald said.
Europe's lead went to 12-5 before anyone teed off. It needs to win two matches to retain the cup, and 14 1/2 points for the outright win.
The Ryder Cup requires each captain to put the name of one player in a sealed envelope Saturday night to be benched in case of an injury on the other team. U.S. captain Keegan Bradley went with English.
“It's tough,” Bradley said. “It's a strange rule, but we've got to go with what the rules say. He took it so well. I'm proud of him.”
This is only the fourth time the envelope has been used since it became part of the captains' agreement in 1979, most recently in 1993 when Lanny Wadkins volunteered his name when Sam Torrance had septic toe.
English, a runner-up in two majors this year, was among the six Americans who qualified for the team. He lost both his foursomes matches at Bethpage Black playing with Collin Morikawa, both times against Europe's top tandem of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood.
Hovland delivered one of the key moments for Europe in a week filled with them, a 12-foot par putt on the 17th hole to stay 1 up and lead to a Saturday morning foursomes win over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.
Donald said Hovland was in pain during the Saturday morning match, then felt worse hitting drivers on the range after. Hovland was replaced in the Saturday afternoon lineup and taken for an MRI, which showed the recurrence of the disc issue that sidelined him in June.
Europe said in a statement Hovland woke up Sunday unable to move his neck. He tried to warm up, but ultimately informed Donald he was 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 a 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.”
Mark James had a chest injury and couldn't play in 1979 and was given a halve with the American in the envelope, Gil Morgan. The envelope wasn't used again until 1991 at Kiawah Island when Steve Pate was injured in a car accident. He played one match Saturday and couldn’t play again. David Gilford also sat out.
Wadkins had been the most recent American revealed from the envelope, volunteering his name to U.S. captain Tom Watson because he had been a captain's pick and already played three times.
Wadkins, one of America's best in the Ryder Cup, wasn't thrilled how it turned out because he was scheduled to play Seve Ballesteros. When Torrance withdrew, Ballesteros instead matched up with Jim Gallagher Jr. at the bottom of the lineup.
It was unclear how much Bradley and Donald communicated. English, who turned out be in the envelope, was already in the last match. So the rest of the pairings did not change.
But the envelope is deeply personal for the captains, many of whom would not reveal even years later the name they put in the envelope.
“You don’t ever want that name to get out. You don’t ever want to destroy someone’s confidence. But you’re obligated to put a name in the envelope,” Curtis Strange, the 2002 captain, once said. "These guys become family. And it's like you’re telling one of them you don’t love them as much.”
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This version corrects that Lanny Wadkins in 1993 was the last time the envelope was used.
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