FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Viktor Hovland’s status for the Sunday singles at the 2025 Ryder Cup is uncertain due to a neck injury.
European captain Luke Donald confirmed that Hovland underwent an MRI on his neck Saturday night after experiencing discomfort toward the end of his morning round at Bethpage Black and again while warming up for the afternoon session. As a result, Hovland was scratched late from the lineup and replaced by Tyrrell Hatton.
“He got some physio. He was given a lot of anti-inflammatories during the round,” Donald said. “He finished. He was feeling OK. He went in to rest, and then he went back out to the range to try and hit some balls. When he got to the driver, he hit one, and it was very painful. He hit another one, and it got even more painful. It was at that point that he thought, you know, I’m not going to be able to play to the level that I think I can.
“So it was a last-minute decision to switch him out. Tyrrell literally warmed up for about ten minutes. We knew it was a possibility, but we were hoping that he would play.”
Donald added that Hovland is doing everything he can to participate, although his neck stiffened late, prompting the MRI.
Hovland has a 1-1 record this week and was originally scheduled to play Harris English in the final singles match at 2:03 p.m. Sunday. He secured a victory in his Saturday morning match against Robert MacIntyre.
“I had to pull out of the Travelers Championship earlier this year because of the same issue,” Hovland said earlier Saturday afternoon. “I played two holes and then I had to pull out, so I didn’t want to do that here. I’ve been struggling with it a little bit since then—not as bad, but similar—over the last few months.”
If Hovland is unable to compete, U.S. captain Keegan Bradley will be required to reveal the name of the player designated before play started to sit out the singles match. This ensures both teams have the same number of players competing.
https://golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/ryder-cup/2025/09/27/ryder-cup-2025-viktor-hovland-mri-neck-injury/86398929007/