Neck injury keeps Hovland out of afternoon session

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Europe made a late switch to its Saturday afternoon lineup at the Ryder Cup because Viktor Hovland had neck pain, an injury he said has bothered him on and off for a couple of months.

Hovland teamed with Robert MacIntyre for a 1-up victory over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley in the morning and originally was listed to play with Matt Fitzpatrick in the afternoon. But Fitzpatrick ended up going out with Tyrrell Hatton against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

During the morning, Hovland took painkillers and received treatment, which didn't help enough.

“It stayed the same for the remainder of the match after that,” Hovland said. "But I came in and rested up and got some more treatment and when I went back out onto the range, I tried hitting some shots trying to build up to the driver. I hit three or four hard ones and it just got worse.

“I didn’t want to risk it for the match in case it got worse and I couldn’t continue, especially in fourballs when you are hitting every shot.”

Luke Donald was able to make the switch because of an item in the captains' agreement that says “in the event of illness, injury or other emergency reason to a player selected to play in a match, he may be substituted by another member of the team previously not selected, prior to the commencement of this match.”

Hovland withdrew after two holes of his final round of the Travelers Championship in June because of a similar injury.

“I’m going to get some treatment this afternoon and tonight and hopefully I will be OK for the singles tomorrow,” he said.

___

AP Ryder Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/ryder-cup