The secret of the Ryder Cup's envelope rule

In the Ryder Cup, one of the most emotional team competitions in golf, every point can make the difference between victory and defeat. But what happens if a player is unfortunate enough to drop out before the individual matches on Sunday? To prevent a team from winning a point without a fight, there is a special precaution: the so-called "envelope rule".

How the envelope rule works at the Ryder Cup

The rule was introduced in 1979 when the Ryder Cup format was expanded to include golfers from continental Europe. The principle is simple:

1. Preparation: before the captains announce the pairings for the final singles, each places the name of a player from their team in a sealed envelope. This player would sit out in an emergency.
2. The emergency: If a player is unable to play due to injury or illness, the envelope of the opposing captain is opened. The player named in the envelope is then designated as the injured player's opponent and must also withdraw from the competition.
3. The result: The match is officially scored as a split and both teams receive half a point for the overall standings.
4. The secret: The secret of the names is kept. If the envelopes are not needed, they are destroyed unopened so that nobody knows who would have been a possible substitute.

A crucial point is that this scenario automatically reduces the number of matches played by two. First, the match of the injured player is dropped. Since the opposing captain has to withdraw one of his players, his originally scheduled match is also canceled. The players who no longer have an opponent do not compete against each other. Instead of the usual twelve individual matches, only ten matches are played in this case.

Find out all about the rules and forms of play at the Ryder Cup here.

Historical applications of the turnover rule at the Ryder Cup

The "envelope rule" has only rarely been applied in the history of the tournament. The most prominent cases were:

• 1991: US player Steve Pate was unable to play after a car accident. As a result, David Gilford, nominated by European captain Bernard Gallacher, had to sit out the match.
• 1993: When Scotland's Sam Torrance had to miss out due to injury, American Lanny Wadkins, who had previously volunteered to cover for his captain Tom Watson, was called up.

There was a special rule in 2021: due to the COVID-19 pandemic, three additional names were placed in a second envelope in case players were unable to play due to infection. Incidentally, a similar rule also applies in the Presidents Cup, but not in the Solheim Cup.