In a dramatic turn of events in an already flared-up Ryder Cup, new news is making the rounds. Viktor Hovland‘s Ryder Cup has ended. After a nagging neck injury reported a day ago, Hovland has now been forced to withdraw from the tournament. The pain was creeping up on him throughout the week, which led him to undergo an MRI. Hovland was missing from the course on Saturday, which prompted several questions. Now with this withdrawal, Keegan Bradley‘s team is expected to suffer a setback in an already lost match.

The moment this news broke out, Bradley was triggered to bring up the rarely used ‘envelope rule.’  According to this, each side of the team pre-selects one player’s name (usually the weakest link in the team) and puts them in a sealed envelope. The envelope is then opened if a withdrawal occurs in the tournament. The name that is revealed is barred from participating in the Sunday singles. Bradley had placed Harris English‘s name inside, which means the match he was set to play in will be recorded as a tie, half a point awarded to each side.

The rule, although it might be in favor of the European Team (the score now stands 12-5), will bring disappointment for Hovland. The Norwegian had been struggling with this issue for the last two months. After he took a day off for the Saturday afternoon fourballs session, Tyrrell Hatton took his place, along with Matt Fitzpatrick. The duo won their match against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

Meanwhile, later at night, Europe’s chief medical officer reported that the MRI conducted on Hovland shows that he had re-aggravated a prior injury, a bulging disc in his neck. In a statement, Hovland described how painful the injury was as he was unable to move his neck at all.

“There is nothing more I would like to do than be out there representing Team Europe and trying to help them win the Ryder Cup today,” Hovland said in a statement. “Not being able to do so is pretty heartbreaking. I will be backing my team as hard as I can and rooting them on.”

Hovland’s selection meant a lot for him as he was a captain’s pick by Luke Donald. Before withdrawal, his match record was a decent 1-1-1. He had split his two foursomes matches alongside Robert MacIntyre.

But Hovland’s exit brought an ominous elimination for English as well. This was his second Ryder Cup appearance after qualifying automatically for the team. His absence might not cause much issue to the Americans, as his performance was not impressive anyway. He managed to score just half a point, which will be awarded to him due to this envelope rule. He lost his other two matches.

Keeping the technicalities aside, Harris English’s name to emerge from the envelope might act as a blow to him. Some believe being chosen suggests that the captain trusts that player the least or sees them as the least capable in singles. Keeping aside his Ryder Cup performance, English was impressive in the regular PGA Tour events, securing a runner-up position in two majors.

“It’s tough,” Bradley said. “It’s a strange rule, but we’ve got to go with what the rules say. He took it so well. I’m proud of him.”

At the same time, captains also face a lot of nerves when such a situation arises. It is believed that many had not revealed for years the name that they put in the envelope. Padraig Harrington described the mental chaos in the captain’s head very aptly. “The person that goes in the envelope, the captain decides, and nobody ever knows,” he said while hoping the secret remains buried forever.

“You don’t ever want that name to get out. You don’t ever want to destroy someone’s confidence. But you’re obligated to put a name in the envelope,” Curtis Strange, the 2002 captain, once said.

This is the fourth time the envelope rule will be invoked.

Past instances of the rare ‘Envelope Rule’ in the Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup envelope rule was introduced in 1979 and is considered the most unusual, dreaded, and rarest golf rule. The rule first came into play the same year it was introduced, at The Greenbrier. England’s Mark James suffered a rib cartilage injury before the Sunday singles, while on the American side Gil Morgan injured his shoulders during warmup. A simple rule was further complicated when American captain Billy Casper revealed that he had accidentally put the wrong name in the envelope due to a misunderstanding. Later, the matter was resolved, and each injured player received half a point.

The rule appeared again in 1991 and 1993 under very different circumstances. At Kiawah Island in 1991, American Steve Pate was ruled unfit for Sunday’s final showdown after a car accident earlier that week. This led to Europe’s Bernard Gallacher to open the ominous envelope to reveal David Gilford’s name. Two years later, at The Belfry, Sam Torrance of Europe withdrew due to a septic toe infection. But instead of an envelope to reveal the unlucky name, American Lanny Wadkins volunteered to sacrifice his own chance to play.

This Ryder Cup will be remembered for a lot of things. Maybe a historic victory for the away team, and the invoking of a rule that often remains buried.