Keegan Bradley Insists Ryder Cup Envelope Rule 'Has To Change' After Harris English Forced To Sit Out Sunday Singles

Keegan Bradley insists the envelope rule that handed both teams half a point before the Sunday singles session of the Ryder Cup, and forced Harris English to sit it out, has to change.

The rule was brought into play for just the third time in Ryder Cup history when Team Europe’s Viktor Hovland withdrew from the final session at Bethpage Black with a neck injury - the same reason he missed the Saturday afternoon four-ball session.

That put Bradley in the unenviable position of needing to tell English that he had no part to play in the session as he was being paired with Hovland in a match never to be played, with each team awarded half a point.

At the start of play, that looked particularly beneficial to the Europeans as it left them needing only two points to retain the trophy and 2.5 to win it outright.

In the end, the Europeans won the match 15-13 in dramatic circumstances, with the margin of victory just enough to ensure a greater controversy surrounding the envelope rule didn’t erupt.

That’s because, if Team Europe’s points tally had stalled at either 14 after retaining the trophy, or 14.5 after winning it outright, hypothetical questions would surely have been asked as to what might have happened had all 12 matches been played as planned.

That would have left the chance of either team being able to take a full point from the English vs Hovland match rather than half. For example, a 14-14 tie would have become a 14.5-13.5 US victory with an English win.

Following a brilliant comeback from the US, which saw them give Luke Donald’s team an almighty scare having begun the day 12-5 behind, Bradley insisted the rule needs a rethink, and admitted he has some thoughts as to what could replace it.

He said: “I have a few ideas, but I'm not going to tell you right now. 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.”

Another reason the rule is less than ideal is, of course, that it ensures a fully fit player misses out on a session he thought he was guaranteed to play.

The fall guy for the US team, English, revealed he only found out he was sitting the session out as he was about to start his warm-up.

He said: “I was kind of about ready to start my warmup, and they told me that I'm not playing today. I told them at the beginning of the week, I was like, if you want me to play one match, if you want me to play five matches, I'm going to do whatever you tell me to do.

"I was on the other side of it today, and man, it was unbelievable watching these guys fight, and glad I got to do it.”

Still, he added that he, too, thinks a change is necessary. “Yeah, it was tough,” he said. “I know Viktor is hurt. He sent me a text. He came up to me, and I know he's hurt.

“The rule is what it is; hopefully they'll look at it at some point, but 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.”

As for Team Europe captain Luke Donald, he’s not so sure there’s an issue.

After leading the team to its first win in the US since Medinah in 2012, he said: "I think it's been in place since 1971. The US have used it before. I think it happened in 1991 with Steve Pate. That was a tight Ryder Cup, too, 14.5-13.5.

"It happened in 1993; Sam Torrance couldn't play with an injured toe. The US won that one. We have contracts for a reason, a captains' agreement for a reason, for situations that occur. I want to center it back to Viktor; I would have had absolute faith in him to deliver a point today. He couldn't play. He was gutted."

He added: "The rule is the rule and it's been in place for a long time."

As to how the rule could be changed, one idea would be to adopt the Solheim Cup rule in place for a similar scenario, where the withdrawing player gives the full point to their opponent. Another could see a reserve player chosen to step in if necessary.