Harris English Reflects On 'Tough' Ryder Cup Envelope Rule Decision

The Sunday singles session of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black was memorable for several reasons.

One was the stunning comeback mounted by the US team, which threatened to pull off victory despite starting the day facing a seven-point deficit, before eventually missing out by 15 points to 13.

Another was that, for just the third time in the history of the match, the “envelope rule” was implemented.

The rule sees both captains place the name of one of their players in an envelope ahead of the Sunday singles in the event that a player is unable to compete because of injury or illness.

If that happens, a player from the opposing team whose name is in the envelope also sits out the action, with each team gaining half a point and 11 singles matches being played, rather than 12.

The possibility of the envelope rule being used for the first time since 1993 came to the fore on Saturday afternoon, when Europe’s Viktor Hovland couldn’t play in the four-ball session because of a recurrence of a neck injury he had sustained earlier in the season.

At the time, it was hoped he would be fit for Sunday, but it wasn’t to be, meaning the envelope rule came into play.

As a result of Hovland’s absence, Harris English was the unfortunate fall guy for the US team, meaning he played no part in the session despite being fully fit.

Now, the five-time PGA Tour winner has opened up on the situation in an interview given to Golf on CBS’s In Between Shots YouTube channel.

The 36-year-old described the moment he was given the disappointing news, explaining that he quickly had to put it behind him and focus all his energies on supporting the team.

He said: “Yeah, it was tough. It was tough. I was in the locker room warming up, getting ready to play. I knew Viktor wasn't feeling well from the day before and yeah, it was tough to get that news.

“But I kind of had to get over it as quickly as I can and change like, ‘OK, I'm not I'm not playing golf today. I'm going to be the best teammate I can and go cheer on my team and watch them play,’ and almost had an unbelievable comeback.

“I mean, every single guy was playing some really good golf, and we almost had an all-time epic comeback.”

Previously, the only two victims of the envelope rule, which was introduced in 1979, had been Englishman David Gilford in 1991 after the US’s Steve Pate had been injured in a car accident, and Lanny Wadkins in 1993, who put his name forward for the envelope after Europe's Sam Torrance picked up a foot injury.

Despite the rarity of its use, it remains controversial, and once English became the third fully fit player to miss out thanks to it, there were calls to change the rule.

However, even though English was denied his chance to play in one of the most dramatic sessions in Ryder Cup history, he’s not sure how the rule could be altered.

“I know it’s been in play for a long time,” he said. “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 and I know that I might not ever play a Ryder Cup again so it definitely hurts the other player who is able to play and loses that opportunity to play.

“I don’t know how they should change it. I mean, I get you don’t want to have an alternate up there the whole week. But it’s tough.

“I know that rule’s been in play for a long time and they’ve only had to use it a couple of times, and it just sucks that it happened this year.”