A controversial rule will be in effect at the Ryder Cup! Here's an explainer...

This is everything you need to know about the controversial rule that will be in effect at the 2023 Ryder Cup at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

Ben Smith

08 Sep 2023

A controversial rule will be in effect at the Ryder Cup! Here's an explainer... — A controversial rule will be in effect at the Ryder Cup! Here's an…

Have you ever watched coverage of the Ryder Cup, heard references about the Envelope Rule and been curious to what it entails?

Well, you've come to the right place. The Envelope Rule is very simple to understand.

Essentially, each team captain places a player's name into - wait for it - an envelope.

The name of the player in the hat is who they have chosen to sit out the Sunday Singles in the event a golfer gets injured and cannot compete.

Unsurprisingly, the Envelope Rule has been rarely used but when it has it has been a source of controversy.

In the 1991 Ryder Cup at Kiawah Island, U.S. golfer Steve Pate was unable to play his Sunday match owing to a car accident earlier in the week.

It was controversial because he had already played on the Saturday afternoon at The Ocean Course and lost.

Pate and Corey Pavin were defeated by Bernhard Langer and Colin Montgomerie 2&1 in the afternoon fourballs.

Before the Sunday Singles, U.S. captain Dave Stockton announced Pate would not be able to play.

Interestingly, he was pulled after the draw. He was pitted against none other than European Ryder Cup icon Seve Ballesteros.

You might recall this was the Cup which was decided on the final hole of the final match. The contest was forever dubbed The War on the Shore.

The aforementioned Langer needed to win his match with Europe trailing 14-13.

German Langer gave it absolutely everything on the final four holes, winning No. 15, 16 and levelled the match at 17.

He was playing against Hale Irwin and his tee shot looked destined for the sand dunes.

European Ryder Cup Team 2023: Player Guide, Past Form, Stats and Top Scorer Odds

"When we got down there it was on the edge of the fairway," Langer later reflected on the bamboozling moment.

Irwin made bogey leaving Langer needing a par to win the match and secure the Ryder Cup.

His first putt trickled by about six feet. Langer missed, his putt sliding past the right edge of the hole.

It is true that Langer will forever be known as the player who missed a putt that lost the Ryder Cup.

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But it often goes unrecognised just how hard he fought to get into that position.

The 2023 Ryder Cup captains are Luke Donald, representing Europe, and Zach Johnson at the helm of Team USA.

The Envelope Rule, of course, is unlikely to be used but it got us thinking at GolfMagic who we would leave out.

Ryder Cup 2023: Predicting the pairings for Team Europe and Team USA

Here are the teams:

Team Europe:

Team USA:

Who would you be leaving out?

Some thoughts from GolfMagic's Ben Smith:

This is a tough one isn't it? For Europe I think it's fair that the choice will come down to one of the four rookies. We're reliably informed from the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm that Ludvig Aberg is a 'generational' player with imperious ball striking. I don't think I'd be writing his name down if I were Donald. Which leaves Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka and Nicolai Hojgaard. I think given his form my gut feeling would be MacIntyre. Is he Europe's weakest player? I'd say he is. For Team USA, it's probably a trickier proposition given the depth of talent. Sam Burns, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark and Max Homa are the rookies. But I'm going to throw a curveball out there and suggest Zach Johnson leaves out Rickie Fowler. This is strictly down to the fact that Fowler has an abysmal record in the contest.

What do you think, who would you leave out? Send us your thoughts on X or join us on Facebook.

Ryder Cup format, explained:

If you're still here and are wondering what the format is for the Ryder Cup then fear not, GolfMagic is here to help.

Here's how it works:

Ryder Cup format:

The first two days includes one four-match session of four-ball and one four-match session of foursomes.

The final day is reserved for 12 singles matches.

Four-ball

In four-ball, each member of a two-man team plays his own ball, so four balls are in play on every hole. Each team counts the lowest of its two scores on each hole, and the team whose player has the lowest score wins the hole. If the low scores are tied, the hole is halved.

Foursomes

In foursomes, each two-man team plays one ball per hole with the players taking turns until each hole is complete. Players alternate hitting tee shots, with one leading off on odd-numbered holes, and the other hitting first on even-numbered holes. The team with the low score on each hole wins that hole. If their scores are tied, the hole is halved.

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