Slow play in women’s professional golf has reached a boiling point, and Charley Hull isn’t holding back about fixing it.
The English star’s solution? Three slow-play penalties and you lose your Tour card. No exceptions.
“I’m quite ruthless,” Hull said after finishing second at The Annika tournament, where the final round dragged on for an exhausting 5 hours and 38 minutes.
That glacial pace forced players to finish in near darkness and pushed TV coverage almost an hour past schedule.
Two of the LPGA’s biggest names, Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, are backing Hull’s tough stance.
“Something has to be done to quicken up the play out there,” Thompson said Tuesday before the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship in Naples. “Whether it’s fines or whatever it is. It needs to be done because we need to play quicker.”
Korda was even more direct about the problem.
“If I was a fan watching for nearly six hours, I’d be very, very annoyed,” she said. “It really drags the game down.”
The slow play issue hit the spotlight last week when the LPGA handed out fines to two players. Carlota Ciganda, known for her deliberate style, got hit with a $4,000 penalty.
Ironically, Ciganda still managed to grab the last spot in this week’s $11 million season finale, where the winner takes home a whopping $4 million.
“I don’t think people understand how tough golf can be mentally,” Ciganda told Golfweek, defending her pace. “It’s a lot tougher than what people think.”
But Korda isn’t buying excuses. She thinks the current fine system isn’t enough.
“To be standing over a putt for two to three minutes, that’s ridiculous,” she said. “When I’m in the fairway, I’m already getting my numbers ready, talking about the shot. People just need to be ready faster.”
Thompson agrees that rounds shouldn’t take more than four and a half hours for three players.
“Look, you’re going to hit a good shot or bad shot, might as well not take that much time over it,” she said. “It’s just a game. Just do your routine, commit, and hit it.”
The LPGA currently lacks enough officials to monitor pace of play effectively, according to Korda. Without more boots on the ground, the slow play problem isn’t likely to improve anytime soon.
