Under the warm Delhi sun, Viktor Hovland looked calm, collected, and strikingly at ease. It was a picture of focus that belied the battle his body had been fighting behind the scenes. The Norwegian star aggravated a bulging disc in his neck during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. He has returned to play in the DP World India Championship that is underway at the Delhi Golf Club.

During a press conference after Round 3, reporters asked the seven-time PGA Tour winner, “How’s the neck feeling?” To this, the Norwegian star responded, “It’s been good actually. Since I haven’t been hitting any drivers, it’s holding up. Still taking painkillers and stuff to keep it going, but it feels quite nice. It’s not really affecting the golf swing at all, so no excuses there.”

His stellar performance also shows that Hovland is not facing any major problems because of the pain in his neck. At the DP World India Championship, he opened with a 1 under par 71. But then he improved his performance in the next two rounds to finish at 67 and 66. Both these rounds were bogey-free and included 5 and 6 birdies, respectively.

Hovland suffered a neck injury during the Saturday morning four-ball session at the Ryder Cup. This forced him to withdraw from the Sunday singles match against Harris English. The 2025 Valspar Championship winner had to face backlash for this because it activated the biennial event’s “envelope rule.”

The envelop rule forces the pre-designated opposing player, in this case Harris English, to forfeit as well. Since officials canceled the match, both golfers received half a point each. With Team America staging a historic singles day to lose with 15-13, this half point to the European team because of Hovland’s injury was not taken well by the American fans. However, Hovland did say that he felt bad for what happened. “Just the fact that I didn’t get to play, and I felt really bad for Harris, who also didn’t get to play a match, even though there was nothing wrong with him,” Hovland told the media before the DP World Tour India Championship.

However, this is not the first time the envelope rule was activated in the Ryder Cup. The same thing happened during the 1991 and 1993 Ryder Cup events, too. At the “War by the Shore” Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, American golfer Steve Pate was injured in a car accident before the singles session. Because of that, Europe’s David Gilford didn’t get to play. The American team won narrowly with a 14½–13½ score that year.

During the next biennial event, the European team’s Sam Torrance withdrew from the singles matches because of a foot infection. When the US envelope was opened, it was Lanny Wadkins who had to sit down. This time, the numbers were the same as 2025, 15-13, but it was Team US who won that year.

American fans reacted strongly to Viktor Hovland’s withdrawal

In 2025, Team Europe won on foreign soil for the first time since 2012. The event seemed pretty much one-sided until Saturday, with the European team leading with a margin of 7 points at 11½-4½. However, it was during the Sunday singles that Team America came very close to losing by only 2 points. As the match came this close, many American fans came after Hovland, questioning the genuineness of his injury.

Golf broadcaster Brendon Porath even took to X to share his controversial opinion. “Fans heckling Hovland, shouting that he looks fine and healthy. ‘We’ll see you next week!’ We know he would play the Sanderson if he could,” he wrote on X. The post received mixed reactions from fans on both sides.

Porath wasn’t the only one reacting; team member Justin Thomas shook his head in disappointment. Golf Digest shared a video of the same. The 26-second video shows the 2x major champion expressing his displeasure while discussing the case with his caddie.

Hovland’s return in India showed both resilience and restraint, proving he can compete while managing discomfort. As he continues to heal, his focus and discipline suggest this setback is only temporary.