Keegan Bradley wants change. Luke Donald says rules are rules.
As the Ryder Cup ended Sunday at Bethpage Black, a Ryder Cup debate may have started. Whose thought wins out on the ‘envelope rule’ should make for an interesting watch over the coming months. Or at least give Ryder Cup lovers something to soothe a hangover that starts Monday — and won’t end in full until September 2027, when the next Cup starts.
The envelope rule? That’s the Ryder Cup move should someone not be able to play Sunday singles due to injury. Instead of a team ceding the point, the sides agreed starting in 1979 that each captain, ahead of the event, would select a player to sit out — and that player’s name would be placed in an envelope only to be unsealed in the case of emergency. And Sunday, it was. Team Europe’s Viktor Hovland couldn’t go because of a neck injury, Harris English was revealed as the American envelope player, and each team was given a half-point, making the score 12-5 in favor of Europe with 11 singles matches remaining.
The discovery of English’s name alone is notable, as there’s obvious curiosity over whom captains would choose for such a spot. But then singles play unexpectedly became close on Sunday. The U.S. started chipping away at the large European lead. And maybe you started to wonder: What if Hovland weren’t hurt? What if English played? They’d actually been scheduled to play each other in Sunday’s last match. Would the absence of the half-points awarded influenced the proceedings as the afternoon unfolded as it did? With the half-point, the Europeans then needed just two points to reach the 14-point total required to retain the Cup it won two years ago — and it denied the Americans a chance at a much-needed full point. But Hovland certainly could’ve defeated English, too. Or perhaps you thought: What if the Americans were awarded a full point when Europe announced Hovland couldn’t go? Their player wasn’t the one hurt, right?
Of course, the half-points were given, and the Europeans won, 15-13. But when asked in his post-match press conference whether the rule is something that should be re-examined, Bradley said five words.
“Yeah, it has to change,” he said.
Did he have any ideas as to how?
“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.”
A short while later, Bradley left the press center, Donald entered — and he was told that Bradley disagreed with the rule, which created some laughs. He then was asked for his thoughts on how the rule impacted play and the rule in general.
Donald talked about the two times it had been enacted previously. He also said he had faith in Hovland to play and that he was “gutted” not to. At that comment, European players cheered.
“The rule is the rule,” Donald said, “and it’s been in place for a long time.”
As he noted the ‘envelope’ has twice been in play.
In 1991, American Steve Pate suffered bruised ribs in a car accident a few days ahead of the event. He sat until Saturday afternoon, but reaggravated the injury, and the call was made he couldn’t go on Sunday in a match against European legend Seve Ballesteros — and David Gilford’s name was pulled from the envelope. The U.S. went on to win 14.5-13.5. Was there controversy? At the time, European Colin Montgomerie said this: “We thought it was fishy. Injuries don’t get worse overnight.”
Two years later, a European was hurt. Sam Torrance was dealing with an infected toe, and he needed to sit on Sunday — but this time, American Lanny Wadkins volunteered to sit, and the envelope was never opened. The U.S. went on to win 15-13.
Said Wadkins at the time: “I was a captain’s pick. The other guys have earned their way onto the team with two years of great play. I have played in eight Ryder Cups now and I don’t know how many matches, and I would hate to deprive somebody of the experience.”
As for how other team events handle injuries for singles play?
After playing in the Presidents Cup last year and in 2013, Bradley may know their procedure: There’s an envelope. But he may be interested in how the women’s Solheim Cup proceeds.
Teams forfeit a full point if a player is injured.
Editor’s note: For more on the ‘envelope’ and the history behind it, click here for this story written by GOLF’s Dylan Dethier.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
