CARLSBAD, Calif. – Michael La Sasso let out a huge sigh of relief as he walked away from the 18th-hole scoring tent Sunday afternoon at Omni La Costa.
The Ole Miss junior, who’s leading the NCAA Championship, spent nearly 10 extra minutes with playing partners Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout and Illinois’ Max Herendeen discussing missed pace-of-play checkpoints with rules officials. All three players avoided slow-play penalties, but it was a close call.
“I don’t feel like I played particularly slow,” said La Sasso, who posted a 2-under 70 to reach 11 under overall. “I took my time, but didn’t think I was particularly slow. Preston and I definitely think a lot, especially over shots, so we’re kind of sitting there grinding trying to make the best score we can. I didn’t think we were slow by any means, but I guess the times were a little off.”
The NCAA’s pace-of-play policy uses a checkpoint system where players must clear four checkpoints – after completing holes 4, 8, 13 and 17. The first missed checkpoint earns a warning, while each additional miss can result in one- or two-shot penalties. A player who misses all four checkpoints could even face disqualification.
Groups are considered out of position if they “take more than the allotted time to finish a checkpoint hole and complete play of a checkpoint hole more than 14 minutes after the preceding group completed play of that hole.”
La Sasso’s group missed checkpoints at holes 4 and 13, but the Pace of Play Committee ruled against penalties because they were “delayed by a circumstance beyond the control of the player or the group.”
That ruling kept Ole Miss at 12 over as a team, just three shots behind eighth-place Florida State. The top eight teams after Monday’s final round advance to match play.
“They kept catching up, but then the team in front of them would speed up because they’re behind, and then they’d get stuck in a bad spot,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Malloy said. “Those guys handled it well. I just gave Mike a compliment; I thought he handled it great, asked questions. At least it didn’t cost us.”
Slow-play penalties have had significant consequences at nationals before. Last year, Virginia’s Ben James was among players penalized during the second round. James finished tied for second, just one shot away from a potential playoff.
While La Sasso avoided that fate, Malloy doesn’t think the close call will provide any extra motivation. The individual winner on Monday earns invitations to the U.S. Open and next year’s Masters, provided they remain amateur – plenty of incentive already.
“You don’t need to put much of a fire under that guy right now,” Malloy said. “He wakes up with his hair on fire.”
