Viktor Hovland Withdraws from Ryder Cup Singles Due to Neck Injury

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Viktor Hovland has officially pulled out of the Ryder Cup singles matches scheduled for Sunday, following an exacerbation of a neck injury that prevented him from competing.

The Norwegian golfer, who traveled to Bethpage Black in support of Team Europe, was sidelined after an MRI on Saturday night revealed a bulging disk. Team Europe confirmed that Hovland woke Sunday morning unable to move his neck.

Hovland’s withdrawal led to the invocation of the Ryder Cup’s seldom-used “envelope rule.” This regulation requires the U.S. team captain, Keegan Bradley, to submit a sealed name of a player who would step in should a European player withdraw. The selected player, Harris English, was initially set to compete against Hovland in the last singles match of the day. Due to Hovland’s exit, their match was recorded as a tie, awarding both teams half a point each.

With this adjustment, Europe now holds a commanding 12-5 lead over the United States ahead of Sunday’s first singles match, which is scheduled to begin at 12:02 p.m. ET. As the reigning champions, Team Europe requires just two points to retain the Ryder Cup title and 2½ points to win it outright.

In a statement, Hovland expressed his disappointment: "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. Not being able to do so is pretty heartbreaking. I will be backing my team as hard as I can and rooting them on."

The 28-year-old player revealed to reporters on Saturday that this injury mirrors the one that forced him to withdraw from the Travelers Championship in June.

Earlier Saturday, Hovland participated in the foursomes session alongside Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, where they defeated Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley by 1 up. However, he was withdrawn from the afternoon fourball match, initially slated with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, and was replaced by fellow Englishman Tyrrell Hatton.

Hovland commented on his condition: "I took some painkillers on the seventh hole and then got some treatment from Matt Roberts, the physio, on the 10th tee box. It stayed the same for the remainder of the match after that. But I came in and rested up and got some more treatment and when I went back out onto the range, I tried hitting some shots trying to build up to the driver. I hit three or four hard ones and it just got worse."

The 2023 FedEx Cup champion ended with a 1-1-0 record in his Ryder Cup appearances; this marked his third time competing in the event.

On the U.S. side, 36-year-old Harris English, who qualified automatically due to a strong 2025 season with three major top-three finishes, went 0-2-0 as Collin Morikawa’s partner in foursomes. This was English’s second Ryder Cup appearance.

Sunday’s singles tee times (all ET) are as follows:

• Cameron Young vs. Justin Rose, 12:02 p.m.
• Justin Thomas vs. Tommy Fleetwood, 12:13 p.m.
• Bryson DeChambeau vs. Matt Fitzpatrick, 12:24 p.m.
• Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy, 12:35 p.m.
• Patrick Cantlay vs. Ludvig Aberg, 12:46 p.m.
• Xander Schauffele vs. Jon Rahm, 12:57 p.m.
• J.J. Spaun vs. Sepp Straka, 1:08 p.m.
• Russell Henley vs. Shane Lowry, 1:19 p.m.
• Ben Griffin vs. Rasmus Hojgaard, 1:30 p.m.
• Collin Morikawa vs. Tyrrell Hatton, 1:41 p.m.
• Sam Burns vs. Robert MacIntyre, 1:52 p.m.