Viktor Hovland opens up on 'upsetting' Ryder Cup moment that affected Team USA's Harris English

Weeks ago, at Bethpage Black, Viktor Hovland was playing in his third Ryder Cup. However, his biennial golf tournament experience came to a sudden end following an unexpected injury.

On Saturday, September 27, Hovland and Robert MacIntyre won their morning Foursomes. However, in the afternoon, Hovland had to be replaced by Tyrrell Hatton for the Fourball session due to a neck injury. The MRI on Saturday night confirmed that Viktor Hovland's disc bulge issue in the neck went through a flare-up.

On Sunday, Hovland was supposed to compete in the Singles match against Harris English of Team USA. In the morning before the Ryder Cup Singles, Hovland revealed having limited flexion and pain in his neck. After Viktor Hovland's match was scrapped, both teams got half points each after the Envelope Rule came into play.

Today, Hovland opened up about this situation and admitted that he felt bad for Harris. During his interaction with the media at New Delhi, India, today, he said:

"The whole situation was pretty upsetting, just the fact that I didn't get to play. "I felt really bad for Harris, who also didn't get to play a match, even though, you know, there's nothing wrong with him. He just, you know, didn't get to play and he was upset about that... I feel very bad for not being able to compete. And it's tough... It's hard."

Take a look at the video shared by Golf Digest on X (previously Twitter):

From the DP World India Championship venue, Viktor Hovland also commented on how the Envelope Rule came into play at Bethpage. Although Keegan Bradley vouched for a change in the Envelope Rule, Hovland claimed that it is the best possible way to deal with unexpected injury situations. While talking on this issue, Hovland also talked about keeping the "spirit of the Ryder Cup" intact.

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Harris English shares honest take on Viktor Hovland and not being able to compete in Ryder Cup Singles

When English came to know about his and Hovland's Sunday Singles being scratched, the former was just getting ready for a warm-up session. Although it was upsetting not being able to represent the United States, English expressed his empathy for Hovland.

In a press interaction, the golfer revealed how Viktor Hovland reached out to him following the flare-up of his neck injury. English said (as quoted by The Mirror):

"It was tough. I know Viktor is hurt. He sent me a text. He came up to me, and I know he's hurt."

English also shared how he felt after not being able to compete. The golfer also revealed that he felt more stressed watching golf rather than being on the field and competing.

"It sucked not going out there and playing today. But it is what it is, and I was part of the crowd today and contributed as much as I could. It’s way more stressful watching golf than actually playing golf. I could feel every shot with the guys..."

Although English expressed his empathy towards Hovland, he also urged officials of the Professional Golfers Association of America to 'take a look' at the Envelope Rule in the Ryder Cup.

Edited by Pravashis Biswas