“The first round of the #FMChampionship was suspended at 7:35 p.m.,” announced the official media handle of the LPGA Tour on the evening of August 29, Thursday. Although the circuit did divulge how the play will resume on Friday at 7.30 a.m., the fans did start to raise concerns over the pace of play that led to the round being called off due to darkness. It makes you truly wonder if the women’s league, at the moment, is plagued by the same, doesn’t it?!
A fan even went ahead to point out how a group took a long time to finish their rounds. One of them commented, “I went to round 1 and each group took over 5 hours to finish! It was brutal at times,” while another urged the Tour to “start enforcing slow play penalties.” But funnily enough, this is not the first time that a recent event on the women’s circuit was called out for its pace of play.
I went to round 1 and each group took over 5 hours to finish! It was brutal at times.
— Brian Flaherty (@brianmflaherty) August 30, 2024
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Maybe, if he changes his approach
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The recently ended 2024 AIG Women’s Open also witnessed a few groups of golfers stand out owing to their excruciating slow play. The likes of Jiyai Shin, Lilia Vu, and Nelly Korda, despite leading the scoreboard in round 4, got on the nerves of many fans as they reacted to the pace of play of these top athletes.
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This was the case in the second round as well. But the field, back then, was hindered by the strong winds, making it hard for the LPGA Tour pros to make their shots. This, in turn, led them to drag the round for more than 5 hours. “There was a big backup on the 11th tee,” wrote Beth Ann Nichols, a Golf Week journalist on X. “And it’s likely that the delay will continue.”
The fans, meanwhile, can be a quite harsh bunch when it comes to the pace of play being slowed down. An enthusiast called out the same while posting on X, “OMG 2 ball groups today. Last group just over 2 hours and just finished 6th hole. OMG #slowplay #torture @AIGWomensOpen,” while another dubbed the major as “barely watchable.” But interestingly, it is one of these top golfers at the AIG Women’s Open whose group was criticized for the slow play that has been very vocal about the same.
Nelly Korda against slow play on the LPGA Tour
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“Honestly, I despise slow play,” said Nelly Korda in an interview with No Laying Up after her fifth 2024 win, coming off at the Chevron Championship. She conveyed how it drives her up a “freaking wall” while indicating her distaste for the same. “I just can’t stand it,” added the pro as she revealed how she was also forced to adjust, “I kind of knew it was going to be a slow day, so I tried to not get ready for my tee shots or my approach shots or my putting until it was my time to go. “
That’s not all. Korda had also expressed her thoughts about it during the recently ended AIG Women’s Open. Sympathizing with the fans, she said, “If I was a spectator and I was out here for 5 1/2 hours to 6 hours, you know, it’s tough to watch,” while pointing out how they came for a sport that’s continuously moving. So what can be done to remedy it? Well, one can only agree with the current world No. 1’s words when she said, “It’s really important for the rules officials to enforce The Rules of Golf.”
