Viktor Hovland OUT of Ryder Cup singles as player in Team USA envelope revealed

Viktor Hovland has been ruled out of the singles at the Ryder Cup,with the envelope rule enforced at Bethpage Black.

The Norwegian picked up a neck injury on Saturday,but was hopeful that he would be fit to play on the final day. However, it was confirmed before play started that Hovland had been ruled out.

That saw the rarely used envelope rule enforced with Harris English the player named by USA captain Keegan Bradley. Before the start of the tournament both captains name one player who will be stood down in the event of an injury to their opponents.

That player is then paired with the injured opponent, with the match instantly chalked down as a half for both teams. The half means Europe move a little closer to retaining the Ryder Cup, moving to 12 points, just two away from the magic number.

The Europeans have enjoyed a dominant opening two days, winning all four sessions in front of a hostile American crowd.

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But captain Luke Donald insisted that his team wouldn't let up and their full focus was winning a fifth and final session.

He said: "Our goal is always to win every session, you know, no matter where we are, and that will be our goal tomorrow.

"You know, we love to do things that haven't been done before, and we've achieved quite a few things this week already. But the goal for me is still, we're close to the finish line, but we still have a long way to go. 

"These guys are very aware of what the difficult environment is going to be like tomorrow. So we're excited for the challenge, but our goal will be to win the session tomorrow."

Donald did though suggest that the American fans crossed the line on Saturday, with personal insults and heckling while players were addressing the ball.

He said: "It was loud, it was raucous. What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit."

McIlroy was the target for much of the abuse, but opted against criticising the spectators after picking up three-and-a-half points out of a possible four across the first two days.

"I don't mind them having a go at us. Like, that's to be expected," he said. "I mean, that's what an away Ryder Cup is. Whenever they are still doing it while you are over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that's the tough thing.

"You know, look, in between shots, say whatever you want to me. That's totally fine. But just let us - you gave us the respect to let us hit shots, and give us the same chance that the Americans have, I guess."

When asked if he believed the opposing fans had overstepped the mark, McIlroy replied: "When you play an away Ryder Cup it's really, really challenging. It's not for me to say.

"People can be their own judge whether they took it too far or not. I'm just proud of us for being able to win with what we had to go through."