SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – The “envelope” has been a part of the Ryder Cup for decades, with captains picking a player from their team who will sit out the Sunday singles matches if there is an injury on the opposing team. The captains’ agreement calls for the match to be halved.
But the age of COVID-19 has added a new layer to the “envelope.” European captain Padraig Harrington explained that for this week’s matches there is the normal injury envelope and a COVID-19 envelope in the event a player from either team tests positive for the coronavirus.
“If, God forbid, we had a COVID outbreak of a number of players, for one player it's pretty straightforward, on Sunday you start losing a few players to COVID, it does affect the match in some way.