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The PGA Tour is changing its Pace of Play Policy. Here’s everything you need to know

Pace of Play on the PGA Tour (and professional golf at large) has been a hot-button topic for years, and the PGA Tour is set to do something about it in 2020. The Tour will institute a revamped pace of play policy at the RBC Heritage, the week after the Masters. Players received the updated policy last week and the next three months will be a “player education” and trial period. Here’s everything you need to know about the new policy.

The Observation List

The name is essentially a euphemism for The Slow List, and but this new group of names will include all players on Tour who, over a 10-tournament rolling period, take 45 seconds or longer to hit a shot when it is their turn. Why 45 seconds? According to 14 million shots worth of ShotLink data , the slowest 10% of players on the PGA Tour average 45 seconds or more to make their next stroke, regardless of where that stroke takes place.

What will be fascinating is if players on the List play their way off the list by developing a habit of faster play, or purposefully playing faster to avoid the penalties associated with the List. Players on the list who do not display improvement over time are “subject to major penalty” under the Tour’s disciplinary rules.

Greater Focus on Individual Timing

What happens to those on the list? Players on this list (approximately 20-25 players) will be notified prior to tournament play, and must make strokes within 60 seconds for every shot throughout that tournament. If they are observed failing to do so, they will be timed individually by a rules official.

Similar to when groups are deemed out of position, players are then given 40 seconds to make a shot while they are being timed, with 10 more seconds for those playing a shot first. An ensuing “bad time” will produce a warning, and any following bad times will result in a one-stroke penalty. So yes, that means players who are on the list are more likely to receive a warning and a penalty, but the same application will be used for players in groups that are deemed “out of position,” even if said players are not on the Observation List.

According to PGA Tour Chief of Operations Tyler Dennis, the Tour’s previous policy was focused on multiple bad times per round. “That has not happened very frequently,” Dennis said. New policy acts on a per tournament basis, with the List being updated each week. If Tiger Woods is on the List during the Genesis Invitational and has a bad time during his first round, his next bad time during that tournament will earn him a one-stroke penalty.

Excessive Shot Times

Remember when Bryson DeChambeau took more than two minute s to hit an 8-foot birdie putt at the Northern Trust in August?

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This moment felt like a tipping point for the social conversation around pace of play. It led to many things, like multiple conversations on the topic between DeChambeau and noted fast-player Brooks Koepka. Under the new policy, DeChambeau would have earned an Excessive Shot Time.

“We looked back at all the moments in recent history where you see players taking a long time and it’s disturbing to various constituents,” Dennis said. “That’s another number that, over time, as this becomes more a part of the psyche of the Tour, maybe we’ll change it.”

There is no direct stroke penalty for taking this long, though it could lead to one, but players who take longer than 120 seconds (two minutes) to play a shot without having a valid reason for doing so will be given a warning once in a season. The next time that happens would incur a $10,000 fine. Each subsequent EST that season earns an additional $20,000 fine.

Timing is kept by officials on-site

While ShotLink data has been used throughout the process of creating this policy, it will only be counted on as verification (if necessary) in the application of penalties. Timing and issuing of penalties will be done by officials on the course. In order to conduct timings, Dennis said each event is bound to have more officials on-site than previous years, but that number of officials is on a tournament-by-tournament basis.

Perhaps most important about officials timing is that once timing players, if there is no bad time recorded within two holes, timing will cease.

The List will not be publicized

The PGA Tour has decided, in agreement with the Player Advisory Council, to keep the names of players on the List private. Through deduction of actions, players, media and spectators might be able to tell who is on the list once a penalty is handed out, but fines for slow play will also not be publicized. So, we can only know who is on the Observation List if they earn two bad times, and thus a one-stroke penalty, and were not already part of a group that was out of position.

In fact, other players will not know what the list looks like. For example, Brooks Koepka will not know if J.B. Holmes is on the Observation List. PGA Tour players will not know the makeup of the list on a group level. They will only be able to deduce based on what might happen during a tournament round, or what is shared among their private circles.

Increased Fines

Under the revamped policy, slow play fines will hit players’ bank accounts harder than previous years. The aforementioned Excessive Shot Times are a new situation where fines are handed out, but bad times will also incur greater fines. The first bad time a player gets in a season will earn them a warning, with the second earning them a $50,000 fine, which, according to Dennis, is 10 times greater than past policy. Each bad time after that will earn them another $20,000 fine. In short, the stiff penalty exists so players who are warned once will not have to be warned again, unless they’re feeling pretty loose with 50 grand.

Additionally, simply being timed by officials is not a good thing for Tour pros. Over the course of a season, if a player is timed 10 times while out of position OR by being on the List, they will receive a $50,000 fine. Twenty such times will incur another $20,000 fine.

This isn’t just a PGA Tour thing

This system will be implemented for the Korn Ferry Tour as well. While the KFT will not be able to use as many officials as the premier golf tour in the world, the same time frame will be used.

While the PGA Tour does not run the majors, and co-sanctions the World Golf Championships, these events are bound to have similar (but potentially different) systems in place to govern pace of play.

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Pga tour adjusts pace-of-play policy, reduces conditional status opportunities.

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The year’s final meeting of the PGA Tour policy board on Monday was focused primarily on the circuit’s ongoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and other financial suitors, but the board also approved various changes that will have a more immediate impact on players.

The “Tournament Competition matters” covered everything from an adjustment to the Tour’s pace-of-play policy to changes in how players with conditional status are categorized, according to a memo sent to players early Tuesday by commissioner Jay Monahan.

The pace-of-play policy was adjusted to account for variations between tournaments like weather and golf course difficulty by creation of an “average stroke time” instead of the “observation list” that had been used.

“At the conclusion of a tournament a player’s average stroke time is compared against the field average. For a given tournament, if a player has an average stroke time of 7.0 seconds or more above the field average, he has recorded an average stroke time [AST] infraction,” the new policy reads.

Ten average-stroke-time infractions during a single season would be a $20,000 fine with additional fines for continued violations.

The changes to the conditional status categories were prompted by the move to a calendar year schedule next season and the addition of more signature events.

“Under the new schedule model in 2024, access for conditional categories is projected to be more limited,” the policy reads, citing an estimated 10-percent reduction in playing opportunities next year.

Players in various conditional categories – those who finished 126 th to 150 th on the previous season’s points list, past champions, veteran members, etc. – will now be included in a single reshuffle throughout the year based on current season performance. Previously those groups were periodically reshuffled within their own categories.

“The [player advisory council] discussed the merits of protecting conditional players within their category, but ultimately comments favored rewarding those players playing best in the current season,” the policy reads.

Think fast! PGA Tour takes steps to institute a pace-of-play policy

• Earned Evans Scholarship to attend Indiana University

The PGA Tour has unveiled a new pace-of-play policy that will include keeping a list of its slowest players on a week-to-week basis and levying penalties for "excessive shot times."

Based on ShotLink data the tour compiles, players will be placed on an observation list with warnings given if they exceed 60 seconds to play a shot and a second bad time resulting in a 1-stroke penalty.

The fine structure the tour has in place has also increased substantially for various warnings.

One catch: The observation list will not be made public, and only those players who are on it will be notified.

"What comes with this is we need to make sure there is a deterrence in place," said Tyler Dennis, the PGA Tour's chief of operations. "We wanted to make a statement as to how important this is to us. On penalty strokes, we have changed how we view this going forward. In the past, two bad times in a round meant a penalty, and that has happened very infrequently. Now we are changing that to a tournament, so a second bad time in a tournament would result in a penalty stroke."

The PGA Tour announced in August at the Northern Trust tournament after a significant slow play issue involving Bryson DeChambeau that it was speeding up its work on a new plan that it had been considering for months.

A trial period will commence with the new regulations to go into effect the week of the RBC Heritage in April.

Dennis said the previous system concerning groups that are out of position will remain in effect, as well.

Currently, any group that is deemed out of position -- a hole behind the group in front or with a significant gap -- is told it is out of position. That means any player in that group can be timed and if a time limit for various shots -- typically 40 seconds -- is exceeded, the player is warned. A second bad time results in a 1-shot penalty, which has happened in an individual stroke-play event on the PGA Tour just once going back to 1995.

To get on the observation list, a player's historical ShotLink data will be reviewed over a 10-tournament rolling period to identify the slowest players. Those players will then be subject to a 60-second timing for all shots. If a player exceeds 60 seconds, then he will be timed on an individual basis even if his group is in position. If no infractions occur within two holes, he will no longer be timed.

Another timing situation will also be instituted: If any player in the field is observed to take more than 120 seconds to play a shot (without a good reason for doing so), he will be given an excessive shot time.

Fines will begin for a second excessive shot time in a season at $10,000 and increase to $20,000 for each additional offense. A player who has 10 cumulative or observation list timings gets a $50,000 fine, with $5,000 added per each additional timing.

"We talked long and hard about the observation list," Dennis said. "It's going to be kept confidential. We will notify each player each week who is on it and make sure they understand what it means to be on it. Our goal with this is to really educate the players. In a perfect world, nobody would be on the observation list. We're going to put a lot of energy into this and really try and work with everyone."

Dennis said that all timing of strokes would be done by on-course rules officials.

PGA Tour makes life in the slow lane tougher for its most deliberate players

The PGA Tour's pace of play policy historically was centered around the grouping. As long as the twosome or threesome did not get out of position, there wasn't deemed to be a problem.

That changes, beginning with the Tour's event the week after the Masters, the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

The Tour rolled out the 10th revision to its formal pace of play policy that was first established in 1994 on Tuesday. But it's the most drastic and targets the Tour’s slowest players with the use of extensive data.

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Slow players can't justify their pace any longer just because their group hasn't fallen behind. Fines are higher and should catch the attention of even the top players on the money list.

And stroke penalties, which critics have long said are the only things that will get the attention of the Tour's most notorious turtles, can now be implemented sooner in the process, and more often.

"The Tour understands the noise coming from the players and fans and media," Ponte Vedra Beach resident Billy Horschel told the Golf Channel. "Now, they are doing something about it and will be a little bit more proactive. How proactive? That's what we have to wait and see."

The new policy was approved in November by the PGA Tour Policy board, which includes four player-directors on the nine-member panel.

The new directive, which was sent to every player, contained a stern warning: “... the main focus of the policy should be shifted to changing the individual habits of the slowest players. These habits are believed to be a significant part of the overall negative perception that pervades the issue of pace of play.”

The Tour is using analytics from its ShotLink platform to formulate the basis for its new policy. One thing hasn't changed: The first player to hit in a group has 50 seconds from the time he arrives at his ball, and the second or third players in the group have 40 seconds.

It gets interesting after that:

• If a player takes more than two minutes to hit a shot, "in the absence of a valid reason," he will be given an "excessive shot time" and observed throughout the round. Unlike the previous policy, the player doesn't have to be part of a group that is out of position and has been out on the clock.

• Players receiving excessive shot times will be warned upon the first bad time and given a one-stroke penalty and a $10,000 fine for the second offense. However, if the second offense happens anytime during the tournament, the player will receive the stroke penalty and a $20,000 fine. Previously, the slate was wiped clean when a round ended.

• The penalties get steeper for groups that have been put on the clock. Players in those groups are warned for the first "bad time," exceeding 40 or 50 seconds. The second offense will result in a stroke penalty and a $50,000 fine, with each additional offense carrying another stroke penalty and a $20,000 fine.

• The Tour also will have a weekly "observation list," to identify slow players, who will be timed even if their group is not out of position. Those are players who have taken an average of 45 or more seconds to play a shot during the previous 10 tournaments, or those who received two excessive times in one tournament. The list will be updated weekly.

• Players on the observation list will be timed if they take 60 or more seconds to play a shot. If he goes two holes without a bad time, the timing will halt.

The times on the Observation List will not include the Tour’s two events in which amateur partners play during competitive rounds, this week’s American Express and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; drops, penalties, provisional shots subsequent shots by other players in the group; instances of the first player to hit; and fan interruptions.

According to the Tour's ShotLink data, slow play indeed had become a problem. The slowest 10 percent of the players -- which can be as many as 15 players in a full-field tournament -- were averaging 45 seconds to hit a shot. They get even slower under the most difficult of situations, averaging 60 seconds on par-5 shots where they are attempting to reach the green in two, and 63 seconds on shots from off the green.

The only time those players averaged less than 45 seconds to hit a shot was on putts, where they averaged 40 seconds.

The fastest 10 percent were averaging only 29 seconds overall to hit shots and never exceeded 40 seconds in any situation. They came the closest on shots from off the green, averaging 38 seconds.

The Tour average is 38 seconds to hit a shot overall, 50 seconds from off the green and 33 seconds on putts.

Players such as Bryson DeChambeau, J.B. Holmes and Jason Day have come under heavy criticism for their pace of play, with fans claiming they were turning them away from watching the game.

Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy, the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the world, have been among the most vocal critics of slow play.

Koepka said last year that the slow problem “has gotten out of hand.” McIlroy called it “genuinely a problem in our game.”

Stroke penalties under the previous policy were rare. The last time a player was docked strokes was the team of Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell during the 2013 Zurich Classic team event. It has been nearly 35 years since a player received a stroke penalty in an individual event, Glen Day in 1985.

The European PGA Tour also announced its tougher pace of play policy, which will begin this week at the event in Abu Dhabi. That tour will hit players with stroke penalties for the second bad time in one tournament, rather than a second bad time in one round.

European Tour players can call for a "time extension" once per round, adding 40 seconds to their time. They must ask for the extension before they go over their allotted time.

The PGA Tour said it is working with the governing bodies of the major championships and international tours to formulate a common policy.

PGA Tour players: How long does it take?

The PGA Tour’s data from its ShotLink platform, on how long it takes the slowest and fast players to hit shots. Under the rules, the first player in each group has 50 seconds to hit his shot and each player after that gets 40 seconds: Overall: Slowest 10 percent, 45 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 29 seconds; Tour average, 38 seconds. Tee shots : Slowest 10 percent, 52 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 33 seconds; Tour average, 43 seconds. Second shots on par-5s (going for the green) : Slowest 10 percent, 60 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 30 seconds; Tour average, 44 seconds. Lay-up shots on par-5s: Slowest 10 percent, 52 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 33 seconds; Tour average, 44 seconds. Approach shots: Slowest 10 percent, 55 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 31 seconds; Tour average, 44 seconds. Around the green: Slowest 10 percent, 63 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 38 seconds; Tour average, 50 seconds. Putts: Slowest 10 percent, 40 seconds; fastest 10 percent, 25 seconds; Tour average, 33 seconds.

What is the PGA Tour’s pace of play policy?

In golf, pace of play matters. It's in the Rules of Golf, but the language is a little vague.

Under Rule 6-7 of the Rules of Golf:

The player must play without undue delay and in accordance with any pace of play guidelines that the Committee may establish. Between completion of a hole and playing from the next teeing ground, the player must not unduly delay play.

There are no particular time standards set out in the Rules, which intentionally leaves those standards to tournament committees and presenting authorities. Not every tournament is the same, so prescribing a pace of play for every conceivable event under the sun makes no sense.

That's where the PGA Tour, as well other professional golf tours, come in and specify a pace-of-play policy for tournaments under their control. They decide how long a player has to take a shot and in which situations a player will be timed to make sure they're complying with the expected pace.

On the PGA Tour, their pace of play policy starts with an assumption that the player will abide by what's called time par, which is a course-by-course determination of how long a twosome or threesome should take to play each of 18 holes and a full round in total. The enforcement of the pace of play policy starts when a group is determined to be "out of position." That happens to the first group of a round -- on any starting tee box -- when they exceed the allotted time par. Subsequent groups are considered out of position when they exceed that allotted time per hole or reach an open par 3, or they reach an open par 4 or par 5 and haven't yet played a shot.

It's at that point that a rules official can put a group on the clock after informing them of the decision. It's at that point, all players in the group will be timed on each shot until they get back up to pace. In addition to group timing, a PGA Tour rules official can, at their discretion, begin timing individual players for any reason, even if the player's group is not out of position.

Generally speaking, players are afforded 40 seconds to play a stroke. They're allowed 60 seconds to play a stroke if they're the first to play on a par 3, first to play a second shot into a par 4 or par 5, first to play a third shot into a par 5, or the first to play around or on the putting green.

If a player exceeds the time allotted on any stroke, they're then informed by an official. For the first offense while being timed, they're given a warning. If they get another bad time while under watch in a single round, they get a one-stroke penalty. If they get a third bad time, they're given a two-stroke penalty. If they get a fourth bad time, they're disqualified. At the end of a round, bad times are forgotten for the purposes of penalty strokes.

However, players can earn fines for accumulating bad times over the course of a season. The first bad time during a season does not lead to a fine. The second bad time leads to a fine of $5,000. For every bad time after that, the fine is $10,000 per offense. Bad times in any PGA Tour event count.

There are also fines for being timed in the first place. The first nine times during a season that a player is in an out of position group that is being timed, the player is not fined. On the 10th time a player is in an out of position group and timed, they're fined $20,000. After that, each subsequent offense is a $5,000 fine.

If a player is fined for either reason, both sets of fines double the next year, and they can double each consecutive year a player is subject to a fine under the policy.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

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Draws and Fades: Cream at top leaves trepidatious value for chasers

Draws and Fades

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The oddsmakers slated Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele as the players to beat this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, and the star duo played true to their billing in the opening round at Quail Hollow Club.

Schauffele, the runner-up a year ago, opened with a tidy 7-under 64 to set a hot pace and establish a three-shot lead. It turns out the one time I don’t pick him as an outright option this year, the shackles come off and he plays carefree great golf!

Xander Schauffele takes relief from ShotLink tower, saves par at Wells Fargo

McIlroy was also a pacesetter early before some late stumbles left him to settle for a 4-under 67. A three-time champion at Quail Hollow, McIlroy was threatening a super low day at 5-under through seven holes, only to split four bogeys and three birdies from that point.

Collin Morikawa continued his recent upswing in form to join McIlroy at 4-under, as did Swedish veteran Alex Noren.

Former event champion Jason Day and 2017 PGA Champion at Quail Hollow Justin Thomas were joined by Sungjae Im, Sepp Straka, Lee Hodges, Russell Henley and Taylor Moore at 3-under.

As expected, the odds for the top duo have been slashed dramatically from their opening numbers with Schauffele now a favorite at +200 and McIlroy down to +360.

Before we get too deep in the weeds - chances are, your winner comes from these two. They are quality players who have great games built to this course. McIlroy is a proven winner at Quail Hollow and Schauffele has the stats pack to produce rounds like he did Thursday.

But the fact is, while the players are “draws” from here, their odds are “fades.” With 54 holes to go, placing wagers on short odds becomes somewhat irresponsible. With 18 holes to go, should there be a close battle between these two; absolutely you can pick your horse and watch them sprint. But with 54 holes to go, the value isn’t there. Hopefully many of you got on at the better starting odds.

Instead, the “value”, comes in trying to pick a chaser at higher odds you think has a chance to push back into the contest against the top of the pack.

So keep this in mind when reading my draws in this column. I’m not super gung-ho they will win this week, rather I believe they are potentially the best chance of the chase pack to apply some pressure to the chalk up top. I fully expect Schauffele to stick it to me by winning when I’ve failed to pick him.

Here are the latest odds from BetMGM Sportsbook.

• +200: Xander Schauffele (7-under)
• +360: Rory McIlroy (4-under)
• +1000 : Collin Morikawa (4-under)
• +1600: Justin Thomas (3-under)
• +2000: Alex Noren (4-under)
• +2200: Max Homa (2-under)
• +2500: Jason Day (3-under)
• +3000: Sungjae Im (3-under); Russell Henley (3-under)

Collin Morikawa +1000

Alex Noren +2000

I know this guy has had an entire career to win on the PGA TOUR and hasn’t closed but his recent form should have you at least considering the +2000 juice on offer for a man currently T2 on the leaderboard and with 10 DP World Tour titles to his name. Noren ranked seventh in SG: Off the Tee and fourth in SG: Approach on Thursday and was also a tidy 13th in SG: Around the Green. If he can improve his putting just a touch over the next three rounds, he could find himself fighting for the title even if his previous record at Quail Hollow is below average. Noren is coming off a third-place finish in THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

Remember the odds on Schauffele and McIlroy are fades, but the players are not.

Jason Day +2500

For a risk/reward play, Day could actually be your guy (and my Aussie mate will enjoy me throwing his name up here as he loves to fly under the radar and to prove me wrong). But the finish to his round scared me more than the opening impressed me. I’d have preferred to see Day around the +3500 to +4000 range, a number he would have been at if not for a previous victory here in 2018. Day was 3-under through two holes after a chip-in eagle and birdie start, but the former champion at Quail Hollow had to rely on his short game on and around the greens to keep him in the mix Thursday.

He ranks second in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and eighth in putting, but is in the middle of the pack at 34th in SG: Off the Tee. He was the only player in the top 11 to lose strokes to the field on approach. Round 2 will be his turning point, one way or the other, but I can’t help but think back to Saturday of the 2017 PGA Championship on this course, when still in the hunt for the title Day made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 18th hole.

Senior Writer, Golfbet Follow Ben Everill on Twitter .

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McIlroy three shots off pace at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo Championship first-round leaderboard

-7 Schauffele (US); -4 McIlroy (NI), Morikawa (US), Noren (Swe); -3 Thomas (US), Im (Kor), Day (Aus), Hodges (US), Henley (US), Moore (US)

Rory McIlroy is three shots behind leader Xander Schauffele after an encouraging first round of the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.

The Northern Irishman shot a four-under-par 67 to leave him tied with Collin Morikawa and Alex Noren in second.

An eagle, three birdies and a bogey took McIlroy to four under through the front nine but he failed to build on that on the back nine with three birdies and three bogeys.

McIlroy, who won his first PGA Tour event at Quail Hollow in 2010, has won the tournament three times.

"Playing in front of these fans, I feel like Charlotte has sort of taken me in as one of their own.

"It's been a great journey. I've had some awesome memories, and obviously I'm trying to keep making more of those."

Seven-time PGA Tour winner Schauffele dropped just one shot during his opening round, hitting six birdies and an eagle.

England's Tommy Fleetwood is on level par with Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose three over.

The second men's major of the year, the US PGA Championship, takes place next week in Valhalla.

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Wells Fargo Championship

Quail Hollow Club

Editors' Roundtable

On Patrick Cantlay, shot clocks and golf's slow-play problem

Kevin C. Cox

There was no shortage of viewers the past two weeks in professional golf. The Masters is annually the most-watched golf event of the year , and the RBC Heritage boasted a loaded field thanks to the tournament receiving the PGA Tour's new "designated" status. However, extra eyeballs means extra scrutiny, as the past two weeks have heightened a recurring complaint with the game: The golf is too darn slow.

That is a key word, “recurring,” for slow-play complaints are nothing new. Yet, the past year of civil war in the professional game has allowed for any and every aspect of the PGA Tour to be evaluated, and one of LIV Golf’s sells to the public is that its product is not as time-consuming as the traditional game. Our Golf Digest editors take a look at the issue and give their thoughts on the matter.

Slow play has been an issue forever. So are recent bouts just a coincidence or sign of a bigger problem?

The problem is metastasizing. Look at the number of early season PGA Tour events in which Thursday and Friday rounds could not be completed even though there were no weather delays. That never happened 10-15 years ago. Everyone has become a tortoise. — Dave Shedloski

It's very hard to know how "bad" the issue has gotten lately. If you believe Patrick Cantlay , the data shows the total time for an average round is staying about the same. Then again, somewhat anecdotally, you see all these stats about how the tour can't get through two rounds of play in two days. In fact, it feels like a lot of this debate is lacking hard numbers, and we're relying mostly on fan experience, like the misery of watching someone stand over a four-foot putt for a full minute, or the sense of slowness on Sunday at Augusta. I do wonder if there's an element of fan culture that demands a more brisk pace, due to shorter attention spans or whatever, and you can see this reflected in things like baseball's new pitch clock or the serve clock in tennis. — Shane Ryan

Remember the 2019 Northern Trust and the slow-play complaints about Bryson DeChambeau, which ultimately led to the Brooks-Bryson feud? Ah, simpler times. The problem—and make no mistake, it is a problem—may not be any worse now than it was then, but it’s certainly not gotten any better. However, I do think other sports embracing ways to speed up their games while golf has stayed pat has amplified the optics of slow play, which is why the complaints may be sounding louder in volume than in the past. — Joel Beall

More From Golf Digest

Patrick Cantlay is bearing the brunt of the slow-play criticism. Is it warranted?

Yes, it's warranted. And yes, the reaction is also a little over-the-top. Though in some ways that goes with the territory. Cantlay is far from the only slower-than-average player on tour, but he's also one of golf's very best players. Top players get more air time and thus more scrutiny. Top players get into contention more, which tends to make them go slower. It's all combined to make him a kind of symbol for a very real issue in golf, which isn't fair to Cantlay. He's an example of a product of the system, not the cause of it. — Luke Kerr-Dineen

On one hand, Cantlay probably doesn't deserve the current level of opprobrium. And the fact that he does heavily reflects the fact that he's so good—if he wasn't in position at Augusta and Hilton Head to be on TV so often on the weekend, nobody would realize how slow he was playing. On the other hand, he is extremely slow, it's no fun to watch, and I think it's more frustration than cruelty driving the criticism. Also, I don't buy the "it's not his fault, it's the system's fault" argument. Sure, he's doing what is allowed under the rules, but just like a Big Ten college basketball coach encouraging his team to play an ugly, physical game that results in final scores in the 40s and 50s, being "within the rules" doesn't excuse someone from contributing to the aesthetic diminishment of his sport. And part of encouraging change, for better or worse, means calling out individual performances. Cantlay has to wear this one. — SR

Someone has to be the poster child. Cantlay is as good a candidate as anyone. Sunday's final group brought into sharp relief how slow Cantlay can play paired with Jordan Spieth, who isn't fast but is faster than Cantlay, and Matt Fitzpatrick whose process should be part of an instructional video for junior golfers. Fitz, the U.S. Open champion, knows how to pull the trigger with little or no delay when it's his turn, and his victory at Harbour Town proves that a deliberate method isn't needed to win. — DS

Cantlay is as painfully slow as a kidney stone, and that he’s not apologetic about his pace doesn’t help. But this is also selective outrage; Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods were slow, and Jordan Spieth is no road runner. If fans like the player in question, there’s a bit of latitude allowed, and unfortunately for Cantlay, he’s not in that echelon of popularity to receive such leniency. — JB

Major League Baseball introduced a shot clock this season to speed up play. Should the PGA Tour consider a similar implementation?

The DP World Tour tried this at a tournament in 2018 and it was considered a unqualified success. Why was it just a one-off experiment? By the way, technically, a shot clock already exists. It's just not something the public sees, and but there is little penalty for violating it. The real question is, should a shot clock with hard and fast policing and penalties be instituted? Easy answer is yes. But, of course, this is a complicated issue. — DS

I'm skeptical of the shot clock in golf because I can't wrap my head around when the clock would literally start. Every pre-shot routine is slightly different, and there's a teeing-order in golf that isn't there in baseball. Plus there's the whole walking-between-shots issue, and the fact that some players have bad holes, which will naturally slow things up. The pitch clock works in baseball, but golf will need to find its own unique solution. — LKD

Pitchers are adjusting to the pitch clock, and baseball is more fun to watch. Tennis players adjusted to the serve clock, and now if a match takes five hours, it's because it's an epic fight, not because Djokovic is taking a minute between serves. In short, yes, assessing serious penalties and implementing a shot clock so it's not some vague subjective judgment is the way to fix this. That said, at a time when the tour is catering to its stars because they fear LIV defections, good luck getting them to implement something that potentially annoys those stars! — SR

Shot clock aside, what can the tour do to speed up pace of play?

Adopt the AJGA's system for its junior golfers, which has figured this out through a system of checkpoints, color-coded warnings and penalties. It's also a system most of these players have played under before. No need to reinvent the wheel here; we're asking players to play golf a tiny bit faster—and there's already a proven system that does that. — LKD

Fire all sports psychologists who convinced golf professionals that they have to institute a "process" before they can hit a shot. Granted, it wouldn't hurt if they stopped tricking up the setups to combat distance and simply cut the rough, stopped putting pins three feet from edges and slowed down the greens a bit. But in the end, too many players have been convinced that a deliberate pre-shot routine is mandatory to hit a quality shot. If that were true, slow play wouldn't be a problem, because it would be all fairways and greens all the time and everyone would fly around the course. — DS

The tour could release wild dogs to chase slow players, or maybe shoot the offending players with a mild tranquilizer dart that makes golf slightly more difficult for an hour or so. In all seriousness, no, a shot clock and real-deal penalties are pretty much the only way to solve this. Half-measures won't do it, because unless there are real stakes, the slow players aren't going to change. — SR

I would like to revisit the wild dogs suggestion, as it would finally put to rest the “Are golfers athletes?” debate. … That said, I do think there’s something to green speed and pin location being at the heart of this. When we followed DeChambeau around the 2019 Tour Championship to see why his rounds were taking so long, putting was the main culprit. Fix this element—less severe pin spots, slower green speed—and the issue may be alleviated entirely. — JB

More from Golf Digest

Trending now.

Phil Mickelson sends stark warning to PGA Tour as LIV Golf project gathers pace

P hil Mickelson has issued a major warning to the PGA Tour, predicting that LIV Golf will continue to attract top players in the coming years. LIV has positioned itself at the forefront of professional golf over the past two years, leading to a bitter dispute with the PGA Tour . The latter group has attempted to halt the progress of the Saudi-backed series by banning any player who switches sides.

Jon Rahm was the latest high-profile star to make the move last December, signing a deal reportedly worth $600 million, marking arguably LIV's biggest coup yet. Looking ahead, Mickelson is confident that Greg Norman and his team will continue to expand their roster.

"I think there's a lot of things that are going to transpire over the next five or ten years. I'm very bullish and excited about what that means for LIV Golf," the six-time major winner claimed ahead of LIV Singapore.

Paige Spiranac emotionally opens up on professional golf comeback attempt

"There's also a lot of uncertainty. I think the thing that I do know is I think the quality of the players will continue to get better each year. I think that the ability and the sites that we move to throughout the world will continue to excite players and excite fans."

Mickelson has voiced his concerns about the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the proposed peace agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The deal, which was announced last June, aims to quell the discord in the golfing world by bringing top players back together.

Despite intentions, the parties have yet to finalize the agreement after missing the initial end-of-2023 deadline. Although it's unclear how those talks willl unfold, Mickelson's LIV colleague Bryson DeChambeau remains excited about the breakaway league.

"The future of LIV. We know it's going to be here, bigger, badder and better than ever before," DeChambeau said on Wednesday. "It's just going to continue to keep growing over the next five to ten years."

DeChambeau is also happy with the success of LIV's team element. He added: "I think the competition between the teams will get heightened.

"The rivalries will get heightened. There's already some sort of rivalries going on right now, but as the years go on and people are going to win championships, that team championship at the end of the year last year like the Crushers did, I think there's going to be a lot of rivalries to be produced that you'll see, and it's stories to be told I think will be pretty insane over the next five to ten years."

• This article was crafted with the help of AI tools, which speed up the Daily Express editorial research. A Daily Express editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors here Link

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Big names show up, a favorable free drop highlight a busy thursday at 2024 wells fargo championship, share this article.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One of the main criticisms the PGA Tour has faced so far this 2024 season with regard to its high-profile signature events has been the lack of stars at the top of the leaderboard in the early rounds.

The big players showed out early and often during the first round of the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship on Thursday at Quail Hollow Club, as did a handful of lesser-known names who earned their way into the elevated tournament that offers up a $20 million purse.

From the likes of Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jason Day all in the top five to a controversial ruling and impressive performances from sponsor exemption players, here’s what you missed from a busy (and wet) opening round of the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.

Wells Fargo: Friday tee times

Schauffele jumps out to early lead (and gets a favorable rules decision)

Xander Schauffele watches a tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 09, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Xander Schauffele had just one blemish on a near-perfect scorecard in Thursday’s first round as the 30-year-old fired a 7-under 64 to take an early three-shot lead after the opening 18 holes.

Starting on the back nine, Schauffele birdied five of his first eight holes before he made his lone bogey of the round on the par-4 18th. After the turn to the front nine he rode the par train for Nos. 1- 6 before he made an impressive eagle on the par-5 7th and birdie on the par-4 9th holes.

Schauffele is winless this season but does have seven top-10 finishes under his belt. Earlier in the week he addressed the state of his game saying “a little bit of everything” has been working but he hasn’t “really been able to get everything together at once.”

Today he was able to piece it all together, and he also benefitted from a free drop despite hitting his ball into a penalty area on the par-4 8th hole. More on that here .

A tough start to Wyndham Clark's title defense

Wyndham Clark pitches up to on the 14th green during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Wyndham Clark jumpstarted his breakout year on Tour here at Quail Hollow last year with his first-ever PGA Tour win, but the world No. 3’s title defense got off to a shaky start as Clark signed for a 2-over 73 on Thursday. He was one of 26 players that finished over par on a soggy course that was hampered by rain on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

After starting on No. 10, Clark had a psycho scorecard (shoutout Shane Bacon) early in the round as he made birdie on No. 10, back-to-back double bogeys on Nos. 11 and 12 and three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15. He’s off the pace early, but there’s still plenty of time to climb back into contention, not to mention there’s no cut in the Tour’s sixth signature event of the season.

New look No. 16 has same results

Hole 16 to the right and hole 17 green to the left view from 14 green during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The new tee box on the par-4 16th was the talk of the town before the start of the tournament as Quail Hollow made the second-hardest hole on the property all the more challenging (in theory).

No. 16 had a scoring average of 4.27 last year, and after moving the tee back 20 yards to bring the scorecard yardage to 529 yards, Thursday’s scoring average came in at 4.21. Just three birdies were made to go along with 49 pars, 15 bogeys and one double bogey.

“The new tee on 16 is a bear,” said Webb Simpson, a Quail Hollow member since 2011 and resident since 2014, before the tournament began. “The question before for me was can I ever carry the bunker and I only could downwind. Now the bunker’s not really even in play.”

“It definitely makes that second shot really unique,” Max Homa said. “That’s a tough second shot, so I think that’s fun to — I think it is one of those rare positive changes of moving a tee that far back and actually continuing to give the long guys an advantage but kind of making them hit into a similar width fairway that the rest of us are.”

As Quail Hollow prepares to host next year’s PGA Championship, a new tee was also added to the par-3 13th to add 10 yards, greens were resurfaced with Tif Eagle Bermudagrass and 12 putting surfaces saw slopes get softened to offer better hole locations at higher green speeds. In addition to the new tees and greens, bunkers were also rebuilt with new drainage, liners and sand.

Rory McIlroy was a big fan of the Tom Brady roast

Telling someone else’s joke usually doesn’t go well, especially when you fumble the punchline, but that didn’t stop McIlroy from re-hashing one of Nikki Glaser’s many zingers at Netflix’s roast of Tom Brady.

Sounds like @McIlroyRory was a big fan of the @TomBrady roast 😂 pic.twitter.com/Ji8Wjz8275 — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 9, 2024

Oh yeah, he’s also part of a seven-person subcommittee that will be negotiating with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

How did the sponsor exemptions fare?

Matt Kuchar hits a tee shot on the first hole during the first round of the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Country Club on May 09, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

PGA Tour policy board member Webb Simpson defended his fourth sponsor exemption to the Tour’s sixth big-money signature event of the season earlier in the week before the tournament and backed up his argument with his play on Thursday. The Quail Hollow member rolled out of his own bed on Thursday morning and shot a 1-under 70 to sit T-16 after the opening 18 holes.

His fellow sponsor invites Matt Kuchar (69, T-12), Adam Scott (71, T-31) and Gary Woodland (70, T-16) also showed up to play. For all the debate on the players receiving invites (and if invites should even be allowed for signature events), the four in the field this week have backed up their selection so far.

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