Not that it would’ve mattered in what ended a 15-13 European Ryder Cup victory, but in the aftermath of his side’s defeat at Bethpage Black, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley was already calling for a rule change.
Hours earlier, Europe’s Viktor Hovland had withdrawn from his Sunday singles match against Harris English with a neck injury, enacting the Envelope Rule, which states that in the event a player is unable to compete due to illness or injury, the other captain must designate one of his players to sit out, and both players will receive half-points.
With Hovland a scratch, Europe’s magic number to retain the Ryder Cup shrunk to just two points.
Even if Hovland had played and lost to English, the Americans would’ve still lost by one, but that didn’t seem to affect Bradley’s opinion of the rule, which has factored now four times since its establishment in 1979, when American Gil Morgan sat following a chest injury to Europe’s Mark James.
“Yeah, it has to change,” Bradley said succinctly.
“Do you have any ideas?” the reporter pressed.
“I have a few ideas, but I’m not going to tell you right now,” Bradley said. “I mean, the rule has to change. I think it’s obvious to everybody in the sports world, in this room. Nothing against Viktor. But that rule needs to change by the next Ryder Cup.”
European captain Luke Donald was also asked for his thoughts on the rule. He noted that the other two times it has been needed, in 1991 and 1993, the U.S. won close Ryder Cups, including a one-point win in the former after American Steve Pate couldn’t compete because of injuries sustained in a car crash.
“We have contracts for a reason, a captains’ agreement for a reason, for situations that occur,” Donald said. “I want to center it back to Viktor; I would have had absolute faith in him to deliver a point today. He couldn’t play. He was gutted.
“The rule is the rule, and it’s been in place for a long time.”
