Harris English found himself in a situation few golfers ever experience, being left out of the singles lineup at the Ryder Cup on Sunday.
In fact, only two other players in the history of the event have gone through what English did this year during the singles at Bethpage Black.
Viktor Hovland picked up a neck injury during Saturday’s four-ball matches, which led to the use of the envelope rule and left English out of action. Naturally, he wasn’t happy about it.
The envelope rule comes into play when a player is unable to compete due to injury or illness before line-ups are submitted. Each captain names a backup in advance, and if needed, both those players sit out with their match declared halved.
Harris English reflects on missing out on Ryder Cup Sunday singles
For a while, it looked like Team USA might pull off one of the great comebacks, taking charge across several early matches. Even though Europe eventually won 15-13, there was a real stretch when the momentum felt like it had fully shifted.
English wasn’t part of the action due to the envelope rule and watched it all unfold from inside Bethpage Black. His absence stood out even more given how close the contest became.
Afterward, he spoke with Golf on CBS about how he handled not being part of the lineup that day.
“Yeah, it was tough. It was tough. I was in the locker room, warming up, getting ready to play,” said English. “I knew Viktor wasn’t feeling well from the day before. Yeah, it was tough to get that news.”
“I kind of had to get over it as quickly as I could and change [mindset] like okay, I’m not playing golf today.”
“I’m going to be the best teammate I can be and go cheer on my team and watch them play and we almost had an unbelievable comeback.”
Asked whether he truly believed America could come back during Sunday’s singles matches against Europe after falling behind 8-8 heading into Sunday’s play after tying Saturday’s four-balls at 7-7 (thanks to an historic fightback from Hovland who birdied four consecutive holes). English replied:
The U.S. captain said: “100%. I mean, I was looking at pairings even before we were down; before this tournament started we’re probably going to win every single match just because they almost had it [in their] minds.“
Harris English speaks out on Ryder Cup singles snub
The envelope rule, put in place for instances like this, has rarely been used. Hovland’s injury during Saturday’s four-ball brought it into effect, costing English his chance to play on one of golf’s biggest stages.
English was asked about the rule and whether he felt it needed to be changed.
He replied: “That’s a tough question. I know it’s been in play for a long time. I don’t know how to change it. I know Viktor was hurt, I know that.”
“He came up to me. I know he couldn’t play, but it hurts my ability to play for my team on Sunday, and it’s something I’ll never get back. I know that I might not ever play a Ryder Cup again, so it hurts. It definitely hurts the other player who is able to play and loses that opportunity to play.
“So I don’t know how they should change it. I mean, I get that you don’t want to have an alternate up there the whole week, but it’s tough.”
“I mean, I know that rule has been in play for a long time, and they’ve only had to use it a couple times, and it just sucks that it happened this year.“
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