NCAA individual leader avoids slow-play penalty after missing two checkpoints
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Michael La Sasso exited the 18th-hole scoring tent on Sunday afternoon at Omni La Costa breathing a huge sigh of relief.
The Ole Miss junior, who was leading the NCAA Championship, spent nearly 10 extra minutes with his playing competitors, Oklahoma State's Preston Stout and Illinois' Max Herendeen, talking with rules officials about the two checkpoints they had missed during their third rounds.
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Ultimately, none of the three players were penalized for slow play, but it was a little too close for comfort.
'I don't feel like I played particularly slow,' said La Sasso, who signed for a 2-under 70 to enter the clubhouse at 11 under. 'I took my time, but I 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 particularly slow by any means, but I guess the times were a little off.'
The NCAA's pace-of-play policy features a checkpoint system where players must clear four checkpoints, which are after the completion of play on Nos. 4, 8, 13 and 17. The first missed checkpoint is a warning, while each successive miss makes violators liable for one- or two-shot penalties or even a disqualification should a player miss all four.
Players are considered out of position if their group 'takes more than the allotted time to finish a checkpoint hole and completes play of a checkpoint hole more than 14 minutes after the preceding group completed play of that hole.'
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La Sasso's group were out of position at Nos. 4 and 13, but the Pace of Play Committee ruled that they would not receive their one-shot penalties because they were 'delayed by a circumstance beyond the control of the player or the group.'
The Rebels remain 12 over as a team, three shots out of 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.'
Last year at nationals, Virginia's Ben James was among the players penalized for slow play in the second round. James ended up tied for second, one shot out of a potential playoff.
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La Sasso is glad he didn't cost himself a shot, but Malloy doesn't think what happened Sunday afternoon will motivate La Sasso any more than he already is. The winner on Monday will earn invites into the U.S. Open and next year's Masters, provided they remain amateur.
'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.'
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