Gradual play has been a pertinent subject of dialogue on the LPGA this season. And the most important stars within the recreation have had sufficient.
Two days after profitable her seventh occasion of the season at The ANNIKA, Nelly Korda fielded a query concerning the glacial tempo of play that has plagued the LPGA for years. She supplied a easy but efficient resolution, one which needs to be enforced time and time once more.
“Gamers simply should be penalized,” Korda mentioned blatantly.
“Guidelines officers want to look at from the primary group. As soon as they get two minutes behind, one minute behind, it simply slows all the pieces down.”
Korda’s feedback got here quickly after Lexi Thompson took a shot on the LPGA’s sluggish tempo of play. Thompson talked about how aggressive rounds shouldn’t take greater than 4 and a half hours, which was not the case on Sunday at The ANNIKA. Korda’s group, which included Charley Hull and Weiwei Zhang, took greater than 5 hours to trudge round Pelican Golf Membership.
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“I personally suppose it’s a reasonably large challenge. I feel it’s not good for the followers that come out and watch us,” Korda added.
“If it was me personally, I’d be very, very irritated waiting for 5 hours, over 5 hours, 5 hours and 40 minutes, shut to 6. I simply suppose it actually drags the sport down.”
After this previous weekend, Hull, who tied for second and completed three strokes behind Korda, supplied a “ruthless” resolution to the tempo of play challenge. She and Korda additionally accomplished their third rounds in the dead of night.
“I’m fairly ruthless,” Hull mentioned.
“Pay attention, in case you get three unhealthy timings, each time it’s a tee shot penalty; when you have three of them, you lose your Tour card immediately. I’m positive that may hurry lots of people up, and so they gained’t wish to lose their Tour card. That may kill the sluggish play, however they’d by no means do this.”
Maybe the LPGA ought to a minimum of entertain Hull’s thought. Thompson mentioned she “didn’t disagree with it.” Korda referred to as it “humorous.”
However you already know what’s not humorous? When a participant stands within the fairway, ready to play their shot whereas a fellow competitor takes two or three minutes to line up a putt from inside 5 toes up on the inexperienced. It’s infuriating to everybody concerned.
“I’m hitting proper after the particular person in entrance of me simply hit,” Korda mentioned.
“I feel folks simply should be — folks overanalyze, one, and I feel folks simply should be prepared quicker. Folks begin their course of a bit of too late and stand over it for too lengthy. We’d like extra folks on the bottom to watch the tempo of play. I don’t suppose we now have sufficient folks to watch it.”
Maybe that’s the treatment the LPGA wants: extra officers on the bottom to implement the tempo of play. That may assist, a minimum of in Korda’s thoughts.
Regardless, the LPGA can’t proceed to do what it has finished for fairly a while: sit idly by, simply as Korda did on the tee and within the fairway on so many events this previous week.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. Remember to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You may observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.
