The answer to the headline, short and to the point, is no. He can no longer play the Ryder Cup because the Europe team is closed since Luke Donald announced his six picks. With a caveat. Alex Noren will not be able to play at Bethpage unless something unexpected and undesirable happens. That is, one of the 12 selected from Europe suffers some physical or medical setback that forces them to withdraw. How and when would something like this have to happen for Noren to be part of the team? We explain.
The Ryder Cup regulations regarding substitutions are very clear. A replacement can only be made if one of the 12 called-up players withdraws before the competition begins. That is, it must happen and, evidently, be notified before the Ryder inauguration ceremony, which always takes place the evening before the start of the competition. This has been confirmed by sources from the European team itself consulted by Ten Golf. If this circumstance were to occur, Noren could indeed replace one of his teammates and compete in the tournament as normal.
However, if the team presentations take place, with the captains’ speeches, and then a player withdraws, they can no longer be replaced in any case. For the first two days, nothing would happen, as there would be enough golfers to present the four necessary pairs per session, both in foursome and fourballs. However, what happens with the singles where everyone plays against everyone?
Well, if this circumstance occurs, the ‘envelope rule’ applies. Both captains are required before the singles to write a name in an envelope. In the event that a player from the opposing team is injured and cannot play their match, the envelope will be opened, and half a point will be awarded to each team between the injured player and the one written in the envelope who, obviously, would not play the singles.
As it stands, Alex Noren could only play the Ryder Cup if there is a medically justified withdrawal and it is notified before the first shot of the Ryder is hit. The Swede was asked precisely about this possibility two minutes after winning the BMW PGA Championship on the same green of the 18th hole at Wentworth. “I don’t plan to take my clubs, and I hope that doesn’t happen because it would mean a team member has been injured, something no one wants,” Noren said.
Such a scenario is considered due to the magnificent form Alex Noren is in and the fact that he is a vice-captain of Europe. Let’s not forget that he won the British Masters three weeks ago and has now triumphed in the BMW PGA Championship. Two victories in a month. His name was on the table when Luke Donald announced his picks, but he really arrived a bit late. He has been out of competition from October last year to May due to a strange hamstring muscle injury that took quite some time to diagnose.
