Carlota Ciganda mulls a shot throughout the LPGA’s CME Group Tour Championship in November.
Michael Reaves/Getty Photographs
LPGA veteran Carlota Ciganda captured her eighth-career Women European Tour victory on Sunday in her residence nation of Spain. However a problem that has dogged the Spanish professional reared its head once more throughout her win: slow-play accusations.
Ciganda shot a one-under 71 on Sunday to safe her W on the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, nevertheless it didn’t come with out problem, as she noticed a big 54-hole lead almost slip away.
“It wasn’t straightforward, generally when you’ve a four-shot lead it’s not straightforward,” Ciganda stated after the spherical. “I haven’t been up there shortly, so I had some adrenaline happening and began with a few bogeys.”
Tips on how to lastly resolve gradual play? Oh, do Nelly Korda, different professionals have ideas
The European Solheim Cup star made a clutch birdie at 17 to provide herself a two-shot lead heading to the final, the place she made one other bogey to simply cling on for a one-shot victory.
“I fought actually onerous, I’m a fighter,” Ciganda stated of her spherical, “I attempt to give my 100% each time I play golf and that’s what I attempted to do. It was an excellent day for me.”
However following her win, a video surfaced on X posted by @Golfingbrock of Ciganda hitting her strategy shot on the par-4 fifteenth gap at Actual Membership Guadalhorce Golf.
The video begins along with her taking part in companion’s shot, then reveals all the sequence of Ciganda making ready to hit her shot, together with a time clock within the nook. From the second her taking part in companion’s ball involves relaxation to when Ciganda lastly hits her shot, roughly 1 minutes and 20 seconds move.
On the LPGA and PGA excursions, gamers are allotted solely 40 seconds to hit a shot. In particular eventualities, PGA Tour gamers are given an additional 20 seconds to hit. Ciganda’s time nicely exceeded these marks.
However Ciganda was not penalized for gradual play. In a response to the unique put up, Monday Q Data reported that in Saturday’s third spherical Ciganda was placed on the clock after receiving a nasty time, however she additionally was not penalized for that offense. Provided that her margin of victory was one shot, a hypothetical stroke-penalty for tempo of play would have had dramatic ramifications for the event.
This isn’t the primary time Ciganda prevented a stroke-penalty for gradual play, however the final time led to a disqualification.
On the 2023 Evian Championship, and LPGA main, Ciganda was assessed a two-stroke penalty on the ninth gap of the second spherical after her group was placed on the clock after which she exceeded her allowed time to play.
On the minimize line on the time, Ciganda appealed the penalty within the scoring tent, however when LPGA officers denied her attraction, she refused so as to add the penalty strokes to her rating. Consequently, she was disqualified beneath Rule 3.3b(3) for returning a rating decrease than her precise rating.
And Ciganda’s historical past with gradual play offenses doesn’t cease there. On the LPGA’s 2021 Financial institution of Hope Match Play occasion, Ciganda seemingly defeated Sarah Schmelzel 1 up of their match by successful the 18th gap. However after the ultimate putt dropped, Ciganda was assessed a basic slow-play penalty, which in match play leads to the lack of the opening.
And identical to that, Ciganda went from match winner to match loser.
“I do know I’ve to enhance, and I’ll strive to try this subsequent 12 months,” Ciganda informed Golfweek of her tempo of play at The Annika final month. “I don’t suppose folks perceive how robust golf will be … mentally it’s rather a lot harder than what folks suppose. Golfers simply drink some beers and play some golf, and we do that for a dwelling. Quite a bit goes by means of in your thoughts.”
‘I’m fairly ruthless’: Charley Hull’s LPGA slow-play repair reveals little mercy
Sluggish play was a scorching matter late within the 2024 LPGA season. After enduring a sluggish tempo at The Annika occasion in mid-November, LPGA professional Charley Hull sounded off on the difficulty.
“It’s ridiculous and I really feel sorry for the followers how gradual it’s on the market,” Hull stated. “We have been on the market for 5 hours and 40 minutes yesterday. We play in a four-ball at residence on a tough golf course and we’re spherical in three and a half, 4 hours. It’s fairly loopy.”
Hull shared her “ruthless” answer to the issue, involving two-stroke penalties for each offense and a lack of a Tour card for any participant with three offenses.
Coincidentally, on the identical event Ciganda was reportedly hit with a $4,000 superb for gradual play.
Whereas many gamers shared their opinions on gradual play on the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, not everybody shares Hull’s anger. Angel Yin spoke to GOLF’s Nick Piastowski earlier than the occasion, and she or he admitted tempo of play has at the very least improved since she first got here on tour.
“If I’ve to actually say, through the years I’ve been on tour, I feel it was worse earlier than. It was worse earlier than, we have been ready extra, and I feel now we’ve an excellent combination of quick gamers after which that’s when the gradual gamers actually begin exhibiting up. As a result of nearly all of the women are taking part in a lot quicker, the place you can’t be actually too gradual or then you definitely begin getting behind,” Yin stated.
