This means that his match against Harris English is cancelled and the teams get half a point each. Thus, Europe leads with 12–5 against the USA before tonight's decisive match.
Hovland injured himself during his foursome victory in a pair with Robert McIntyre on Saturday. Later in the day, it was also intended that Hovland would play fourball, but then he was replaced by Tyrrell Hatton.
Instead, the 28-year-old was given an MRI scan in New York on Saturday evening and when he woke up on Sunday, he could not move his neck, writes Europe's Ryder Cup team in a press release.
Hovland made it to the Ryder Cup course Bethpage Black, but after making an attempt to warm up, he was forced to throw in the towel.
”There is nothing I would have wanted more than to be out on the course and represent Europe's team and try to help win the Ryder Cup today. Not being able to do that is heartbreaking”, says Viktor Hovland.
In the Ryder Cup, both captains write the name of a player on an envelope that is sealed before the singles match. The player in question is benched in the event of an injury in the other team and the USA's captain Keegan Bradley chose the debutant Harris English.
The rule has not been used since 1991, when the USA's Steve Pate withdrew due to a foot injury.
