Slow play continues to be a real issue in elite golf, with the problem evident in tournaments this week across the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour.
Both the RBC Heritage and the JM Eagle LA Championship went to playoffs, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Hannah Green emerging victorious respectively.
But both events were not without controversy, with Jin Hee Im penalized a stroke for slow play on Saturday on the LPGA Tour.
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick drew heavy criticism from golf fans after he took four minutes to hit his second shot on the 15th hole on Sunday en route to clinching the title.
The LPGA Tour has now received praise for taking decisive action on an issue that has been a big problem for golf for some time.
Speaking on Golf Channel after Im lost in a playoff at the JM Eagle LA Championship, Eamon Lynch said: “Jin Hee Im made that playoff.
“Can we give a little prop to the only tour that actually seems willing to enforce slow play penalties?
“Because if that happened in the men’s game, and a guy lost a playoff on Sunday having gotten a slow play penalty on Sunday, the screaming would just drown out everything else around it.”
Im indeed managed to overcome her penalty to reach a three-way playoff at El Caballero Country Club, where she joined Sei Young Kim and eventual champion Green.
The one-stroke penalty on the 13th hole in round three, therefore, ultimately proved very costly.
Penalizing players is clearly the only way to eradicate slow play, but thus far the PGA Tour has failed to clamp down on the issue.
Pace of play guidelines are in place, but as long as instances like Fitzpatrick’s go unpunished then players will continue to get away with slow play.
Player-specific shot clocks could prevent slow play, as opposed to mere warnings and fines that often have little impact.
Last year the LPGA Tour lowered timing thresholds for stroke penalties, with varying punishments for taking over the 40-second allotment.
A fine is handed out for 1-5 seconds over time, with a one-stroke penalty issued for 6-15 seconds over.
And under its revamped Pace of Play Policy, the LPGA issues a two-stroke penalty for plus times of 16 seconds or more.
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