Golf superstar Charley Hull wants to see LPGA Tour players kicked off the tour for slow play.
The Englishwoman finished tied for second at The Annika in Florida last week as world number one Nelly Korda claimed her seventh victory of the season.
3
However, Korda’s victory on a star-studded leaderboard was overshadowed by chaotic scenes on Saturday.
Hull and Korda, playing side by side, finished in obscurity due to problems with pace of play.
Their third round at Pelican Golf Club lasted five hours and 40 minutes, most of which was spent waiting for those ahead of them.
“It’s ridiculous,” Hull said.
“I feel sorry for the fans, how slow it is. We were out there for five hours and 40 minutes in the third round.
“We play four-ball at home on a hard golf course and we get the round done in three and a half, four hours. It’s pretty crazy.”
Korda agreed, wondering why the leaders had been sent so late in the afternoon.
“It’s a bit hard when you can’t really see,” said the world number 1.
“I think it was a bit of bad planning starting so late for us.
“Any time you’re sitting around on the 18th and the sun’s already set, I mean, it’s never nice.”
3
And Hull, who is one of the fastest players on tour, believes extreme measures are necessary.
She added: “I’m pretty ruthless but (my idea would be) if you get three bad timings, each time it’s a two-shot penalty.
“If you have three, you instantly lose your Tour card. I’m sure that would rush a lot of people and they won’t want to lose their Tour card.
“It would kill the slow game, but they would never do that.”
Slow play is a serious problem in professional golf, not only for amateurs, but also for players, including Hull, who rely on the rhythm.
Officials can issue fines and penalties, but they are rarely enforced at the highest level.
3
In men, Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka have led complaints about slow play in recent years.
The PGA Tour Rules Committee recently announced a number of new proposals to resolve the problem.
Players will be fined $50,000, up from $30,000, if they accumulate ten average race time (AST) violations.
The Tour is also expected to introduce an “excessive average race time” rule – which will see players win $50,000 if they average 12 seconds more against the field over the four rounds of a tournament.
The size of the pitches at the Tour is also expected to be significantly reduced, which should lead to less congestion on the course.
