Hovland neck injury sends Hatton into Ryder Cup four-ball match

Norway's Viktor Hovland was pulled from a planned Ryder Cup four-ball match on Saturday afternoon due to a neck injury, raising questions about his fitness for Sunday's 12 final singles matches.

England's Tyrrell Hatton replaced Hovland alongside England's Matt Fitzpatrick against Americans Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay in the final four-ball match.

There were no details about the extent of the injury or Hovland's status for Sunday's last matches.

Europe carried an 8.5-3.5 lead into Saturday's four-ball matches needing 14 points from 28 matches to keep the trophy after winning at Rome in 2023. The Americans need 14.5 points to recapture the Cup.

The substitution was allowed under the Ryder Cup captains agreement, which states in part: "It is agreed that in the event of illness, injury or other emergency reason to a player selected to play in a match, he may be substituted by another member of the team previously not selected, prior to the commencement of this match."