Viktor Hovland says the Ryder Cup injury felt like a “dark cloud” over Team Europe’s away win, but welcomed Luke Donald’s continued captaincy as they look to win a third title in 2027.
Hovland missed Sunday singles at Bethpage Black in September due to a neck injury that had been bothering him since the summer.
He first received treatment during the game against the Foursomes on Saturday morning, but was absent from the game against the Foursomes later that afternoon and was replaced by Tyrrell Hatton.
Hovland’s inability to play singles gave both teams 0.5 points, forcing the USA to forfeit their designated player due to the envelope rule in Harris English.
“It was tough,” Hovland said on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast. “Obviously the most important thing is that we win, this is a team event and we got the job done and that’s the most important thing.
“But I was really disappointed. Obviously it wasn’t for Harris to play and it was a tough situation for myself as well.
“At the same time, I felt like playing on Thursday and Friday put a bit of a dark cloud over the great job that Luke, all the co-captains, and of course the rest of the team did.
“Especially the Ryder Cup away at Bethpage, it was a complete display of golf. It was just insane just to be a part of it, and the neck issue and the withdrawals and the points situation kind of clouded some of that performance. I felt kind of shitty about it, to be honest.”
Europe overcame the chaos of the New York crowd and ran out winners 15-13, becoming the first away team to win the Ryder Cup since 2012.
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Luke Donald talks about what it means to lead Europe in the Ryder Cup for the third year in a row, considering the possibility of competing with Tiger Woods as captain of the U.S. national team
This was Donald’s second win under his captaincy and he later confirmed he would continue in the role when Europe look to defend their title again at Adare Manor in County Limerick next year.
“He alerted us all the night before (the announcement), so we were all very excited,” Hovland said of Donald’s decision to continue as captain.
“I mean, he’s done a phenomenal job in the last two Ryder Cups. He’s really immersed himself in the role of captaincy and the way he executes it and everything has been very smooth.”
“It was just the perfect captaincy and it’s great to see him get his third captaincy. I think we’re all really excited to get him his third win at Adare Manor.”
Watch the Masters live on Sky Sports from April 9th to 12th. The next PGA Tour event is the Texas Children’s Houston Open, which will be broadcast live on Sports Golf Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Stream it now.
