Latest news with #slowplay
Forbes
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Bryson DeChambeau Gives Slow Play Solution At The Open Championship.
After being put on the clock during Saturday's third round, a frustrated Bryson Dechambeau offered up a solution to professional golfs pace of play problem. PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 18: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States walks on the first hole ... More during day two of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 18, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by) As Bryson DeChambeau and his playing partner, Nathan Kimsey approached the 17th hole during Saturday's third round of the Open Championship, they were notified by tournament officials that they were being put on the clock for slow play. Bryson DeChambeau Slow Play Comments 'We just kept losing time,' DeChambeau noted after his round. 'Unfortunately, on the 16-17 exchange, you've got a downhill drivable hole you can play pretty quick if you get in the right spot. They did that, and we just lost more time to the group in front of us, and they put us on the clock, which is unfortunate.' Slow play has been a nagging problem in golf for decades, but in recent years, it had become a larger talking point for golf professionals and fans alike. This week at Royal Portrush has been no different as rounds have been exceeding five hours regularly, with many nearing six hours to complete. Henrik Stenson Slow Play Comments 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson vented to the media on Saturday after his third round 69. 'We got a warning on the 10th green that we were three minutes out, so five minutes over the allotted time frame,' said Stenson. 'I had joked yesterday with the other guys about the first two days, first round took about an hour over the allotted time. Second round was four to five minutes over. I said: 'We just have to wait until halfway through Saturday or Sunday and someone is going to come up to you and say that you're two minutes over and they're going to start pushing you on.' That's exactly what happened. 'I think if you can play an hour over time scheduled in one day, then all of a sudden two minutes is of huge importance the next day, it feels a bit inconsistent to me.' TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 17: Henrik Stenson of Sweden celebrates victory as he poses with the Claret ... More Jug on the the 18th green after the final round on day four of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon on July 17, 2016 in Troon, Scotland. Henrik Stenson of Sweden finished 20 under for the tournament to claim the Open Championship. (Photo by) Jon Rahm Slow Play Comments Fellow LIV golfer Jon Rahm gave a more measured response to the slow play question after his first round on Thursday. "We had a lot of rain come in and out, so umbrellas out, glove out, put the rain gear on, take the rain gear off, give the umbrella to the caddie. It becomes a lot longer that way. He went on to say, 'Like I said to them, it usually is very much related to the amount of players in the field. When you have 150 plus the first two rounds, every single Major, except the Masters, obviously, is going to be longer rounds. It's just what it is.' Rahm noted that players are prepared for slower rounds at major championships, "It is an adjustment when you get to play a six-hour round a little bit, but I also know it's going to happen. So talk to your caddie, talk to your playing partners. While there's nothing you can do, just try to keep your mind engaged in something else but the game." But it was the DeChambeau the LIV Golf and YouTube sensation that elaborated more on the pace of play problem in professional golf and even offered up his solution - just time everybody. Bryson DeChambeau's Slow Play Solution "It's very simple. It's not difficult at all. You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Very simple," explained DeChambeau, who sat at two-under for the championship after the third round. 'Nobody wants to do it because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for. I'd love to be timed, and I have no problem with that. My putting, I'm more deliberate, take more time on that, but when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I'm pretty fast,' declared DeChambeau when talking about his own game. 'I think it would be more fair towards everybody. If somebody is playing slower, the guy can go up to him and say, hey, man, you're over par with your time. All you do is you just time them for every single shot.' PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 15: Bryson DeChambeau of the United States speaks to the media ... More during a press conference prior to The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on July 15, 2025 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images) As the slow play problem in professional golf persists, more people call for the R&A and USGA to make adjustments. Will DeChambeau's idea to put every player on the clock eventually become the standard? Only time will tell.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Players must be hit where it hurts to cure scourge of slow play
Officials judged JJ Spaun to have recorded a 'bad time' here at the 153rd Open Championship and the US Open champion's playing partners, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, were not best pleased. Goodness knows how they identified Spaun alone. Rounds were taking beyond six hours by the end of the opening day – everybody was slow and they surely could not blame one player. Indeed, picking out Spaun in this trail of the slugs was akin to singling out an Irishman here for having the odd pint. In fairness, however, Spaun is not quick and clearly was not quick and in this respect, it is gratifying to witness the referees actually enforcing the rules, even if it was in an isolated case. Now let us see if they follow this through. Should Spaun record another 'bad time' in the second round, he will receive a penalty shot and an example would thus be made. If you pardon the pun, it would be long overdue. Despite the scourge of slow play raging all but unabated in the elite male professional game for the past decade there has not been a penalty in an individual event on the PGA Tour since Glen 'All' Day in 1995. In the majors, the most recent player to be hit with a sanction on the scorecard was China's Guan Tianlang at the 2013 Masters. And he happened to be a 14-year-old schoolkid. Otherwise, they want us to believe that the transgressions of the rulebook are so rare, it is difficult to catch the slowcoaches. That is nonsense, as the women's game is proving and, to a certain extent, LIV Golf as well. The LPGA Tour has issued four slow play penalties since March, including at the season's fourth female major – the Evian Championship – last week when another Chinese Yan Liu had two strokes added to her score for repeated infringements. On LIV, England's Richard Bland has twice fallen foul of the stop clock and it has cost him shots and money. Australia's Marc Leishman, a LIV member, made this point after his 72. 'Felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours,' he said. 'We've been on the course for three hours through eight holes. That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under four and a half hours every week.' There is mitigation. This is an immensely tough layout and the record-breaking crowds do not foster haste. Furthermore, the squalls meant players were clambering in and out of waterproofs at repeated intervals. That is all excusable. What is not is when the players wait for gusts to calm or when they simply take too long over a shot, either in the planning, the execution or most often, both. This is what occurred to Spaun on the 17th. The group had been 'put on the clock' and each player was being timed over each shot. At this stage, they usually pick up the pace. But on the penultimate hole, Spaun went over the allotted 50 seconds he was allowed as the first golfer to play (the other two in the threeball get 40 seconds). Thus his 'bad time' warning carries over into Friday. There were remonstrations against the rules official, with Rahm's caddie, Adam Hayes, reportedly particularly animated in a tense exchange. The referee stood his ground and should be applauded. John Wood, the well-known caddie who used to work for Matt Kuchar, was with the group as an analyst for USA TV and said the decision was perfectly correct. 'I've been with them for five holes,' Wood said, 'and I have not seen a group in front of them. They are definitely behind.' No, the trio were not the reason for the wretched pace of play. What is at fault is the culture on the PGA Tour and a belief among the entitled multi-millionaires that they will not get punished. The only way that the authorities will break that culture is by hitting the players where it hurts. Not in the wallet, but on the scorecard. More instances like Spaun will speed up the solution.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
British Open: Bryson DeChambeau has a 'simple' solution for slow play
Bryson DeChambeau prides himself on examining every phase of the game of golf in minute, scientific, obsessive detail, before, during and after his rounds. But that examination can take time, and on Saturday during Round 3 of the British Open, DeChambeau was put on the clock for slow play on the 17th. 'We were struggling with pace the whole day. I was moving my butt as fast as I could. Greens were really tricky. I was trying to read them right,' DeChambeau said after his round. 'We just kept losing time.' DeChambeau was just the latest player to take plenty of time to get around Royal Portrush. Some rounds on Thursday took in excess of six hours, thanks to the swirling winds, spattering rain, treacherous greens and demonic rough. Players stacked up at tee boxes all over the course, and frustration radiated across the course. Six hours is just way too long to take to finish a round of golf at the professional level. Slow play is the game's current scourge du jour, blamed — not entirely unfairly — for a decline in interest in the professional game. No one wants to watch players pace, measure, waggle, waggle and waggle again. The question is, what do golf's Powers That Be do about it? Naturally, DeChambeau has plenty of thoughts on slow play, and also naturally, he believes there's a quick fix. 'It's very simple. It's not difficult at all,' he said after his round Saturday. 'You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Very simple.' However, while he'd be happy to be timed, DeChambeau acknowledged that it wouldn't go over too well with the rest of the field. 'Nobody wants to do it,' he said, 'because people are too scared to get exposed.' Timing players' overall rounds would average out the elements of the game where players are faster, or slower, than the field. 'My putting, I'm more deliberate, take more time on that, but when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I'm pretty fast,' he said. "Everybody plays a different style of game, and that's just the way it is.' The methodology of timing full rounds would allow officials to target specific players rather than entire groups. 'If somebody is playing slower, the (official) can go up to him and say, 'Hey, man, you're over par with your time,'' he said. 'All you do is you just time them for every single shot. He gets there and puts the bag down, and how long it takes him to hit that shot and how long it takes him to walk to the green. It's not rocket science.' Earlier this year, the PGA Tour announced new methods to address slow play, from the use of rangefinders to increased penalties to disclosure of slow play statistics later this year. It's still very much to be determined whether the new rules will pick up the pace. But timing every player, DeChambeau believes, would have an immediate effect on slow play. 'Long story short,' DeChambeau said, 'one day I hope we can have a better system.'
The Guardian
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘Out of control': DeChambeau and Stenson take a swing at Open slow-play chaos
A day after a controversial penalty was issued to Shane Lowry, two former major champions, Henrik Stenson and Bryson DeChambeau, have criticised the R&A's approach to slow play at the Open after being spoken to by rules officials in separate incidents during round three. Day one at Royal Portrush saw three balls take close to six hours. 'First two rounds it was out of control, what I saw,' said DeChambeau. By Saturday, with players in pairs, that had been reduced generally to little more than four hours. Groups involving Stenson and DeChambeau, though, were still warned over timing. Stenson admitted he 'vented' to referees after signing for a 69. 'We got a warning on the 10th green that we were three minutes out, so five minutes over the allotted time frame,' said the 2016 Open winner. 'I had joked yesterday with the other guys about the first two days, first round took about an hour over the allotted time. Second round was four to five minutes over. I said: 'We just have to wait until halfway through Saturday or Sunday and someone is going to come up to you and say that you're two minutes over and they're going to start pushing you on.' That's exactly what happened. 'I think if you can play an hour over time scheduled in one day, then all of a sudden two minutes is of huge importance the next day, it feels a bit inconsistent to me.' DeChambeau was similarly baffled. After a 68, the two-time major winner confirmed his pairing had been put on the clock on the 17th.' I was moving my butt as fast as I could,' he said. 'Greens were really tricky. I was trying to read them right. 'It's very simple. It's not difficult at all. You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Very simple. Nobody wants to do it because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for. I'd love to be timed, and I have no problem with that. My putting, I'm more deliberate, take more time on that, but when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I'm pretty fast. 'Everybody plays a different style of game and that's just the way it is. I wish it was just a new system. I think it would be more fair towards everybody. If somebody is playing slower, the guy can go up to him and say: ' Hey, man, you're over par with your time.' All you do is you just time them for every single shot. He gets there and puts the bag down, and how long it takes him to hit that shot and how long it takes him to walk to the green. It's not rocket science.' Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Lowry was unwilling to delve back in to the controversy that saw him hit with a two-shot sanction late on Friday. The Irishman did say fellow players have been supportive. 'Something needs to be changed for sure,' said Jon Rahm of the rule which Lowry fell foul of. Lowry was adamant on Friday he did not see his ball roll backwards in rough at the 12th hole during a practice swing, with officials determining he was in breach. 'I just don't know exactly how they could change it.'
Telegraph
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Live The Open 2025, second round: Fitzpatrick leads and McIlroy in contention
18 July 2025 8:21am 8:21AM Players must be hit where it hurts to cure scourge of slow play Officials judged JJ Spaun to have recorded a 'bad time' here at the 153rd Open Championship and the US Open champion's playing partners, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele, were not best pleased. Goodness knows how they identified Spaun alone. Rounds were taking beyond six hours by the end of the opening day – everybody was slow and they surely could not blame one player. Indeed, picking out Spaun in this trail of the slugs was akin to singling out an Irishman here for having the odd pint. In fairness, however, Spaun is not quick and clearly was not quick and in this respect, it is gratifying to witness the referees actually enforcing the rules, even if it was in an isolated case. Now let us see if they follow this through. Should Spaun record another 'bad time' in the second round, he will receive a penalty shot and an example would thus be made. If you pardon the pun, it would be long overdue. 8:09AM Not the best start for two Masters champions Sergio Garcia is one over for the day so far after three holes (and just narrowly missed a birdie putt) and Adam Scott is two over for the day, with a putt to save par on the fourth. They are even and three over for the tournament respectively. 8:03AM The first hole was the most difficult yesterday Not hard to see why, really. Will that continue today? 7:58AM Who is doing well so far today? American amateur Ethan Fang, for one. He is at two under for the day (two over for the tournament) after three after back-to-back birdies. Back-to-back birdies for Amateur Champion Ethan Fang. — The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2025 However, he has found a tricky fairway bunker on the fourth. 7:53AM Tee times: Some early groups of interest 7:08 am Adam Scott, Rickie Fowler, Ethan Fang (a) 7:19 am Laurie Canter, Elvis Smylie, Sergio Garcia 7:52 am Si Woo Kim, Shugo Imahira, Sebastian Cave (a) 8:25 am Keegan Bradley, Sungjae Im, Daniel Berger 8:36 am Rasmus Hojgaard, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Romain Langasque 8:47 am Aaron Rai, Sahith Theegala, Harry Hall 9:25 am Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Joaquin Niemann 9:36 am Russell Henley, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee 9:47 am Robert MacIntyre, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Rose 9:58 am Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland 10:09 am Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood 10:20 am Harris English, Nick Taylor, Tony Finau 7:41AM Good morning Welcome to our live coverage of day two of the 2025 Open Championship which comes from Royal Portrush. The first day yesterday was a tremendous day of any major championship, with nobody tearing the course up and plenty of big names in the reckoning at this early stage. A good chunk of players were at even par or better after the opening round, with five players posting scores of four-under 67. They include Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Harris English, Jacob Skov Olesen, Li Haotong and Matt Fitzpatrick. There is plenty of home interest, too, with Tyrell Hatton, Matthew Jordan (-3), Aaron Rai, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose (-2) and Rory McIlroy (-1) towards the upper reaches of the leaderboard. Clearly the biggest story this week (for all that of Shane Lowry returning to the scene of his greatest triumph...) is McIlroy. His round yesterday had its moments. At one point (hole 10) he reached three under par and within one shot of the leaders. Then came three bogeys in the next four holes before a birdie at 17 got him back to one under, where he finished. It is a cliche that you cannot win the Open in the first round but you can lose it and, as much as he would have liked to have finished a couple of shots better, McIlroy has put himself in contention at this early stage. Mind you, he is not the only name who had a decent Thursday. World No 1 Scottie Scheffler managed to score a 68, though not without a few difficulties, 2023 champion Brian Harman is also at two under, with Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry at one under. Really, at this stage, anyone who is not too far away from that score of four under is far from out of it. And that is the joy of major golf. Today is set up for another intriguing day of action in County Antrim, with a few early groups out already.
