Major champion lays into PGA Tour stars for slow play: ‘Show some respect!’
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Rounds at the Farmers Insurance Open were topping six hours – and one tour star-turned-analyst was keen to highlight the issue
As the old saying goes: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” We can add slow play being a scourge of tour-level golf to that.
It’s an ongoing problem in both the men’s and women’s games at the top level, and we’re barely through January yet and the snail-like pace is already a huge discussion point on the PGA Tour.
It’s causing issues for broadcasters, too. The American Express went thirty minutes over its allotted coverage slot, while rounds at the Farmers Insurance Open were clocking in at almost six hours.
And when the threeball of Andrew Novak, Aldrich Potgieter and eventual champion Harris English needed nearly three hours to play nine holes during the final round, analyst Dottie Pepper decided to call it out.
The two-time LPGA major champion has become a firm fans’ favorite in her 10 years as an on-course pundit for CBS – not only for her expert insight, but her straight-talking nature.
When asked about her slow play concerns by colleague Frank Nobilo, Pepper replied: “You know, Frank, I think we’re starting to need a new word to talk about this pace of play issue, and it’s respect. For your fellow competitors, for the fans, for broadcasts, for all of it. It’s just got to get better.”
“Well said,” Nobilo replied. “I’m in total agreement with you.”
The last time a slow-play penalty was dished out on the US circuit was for the team of Brian Campbell and Miguel Angel Carballo at the Zurich Classic in 2017, but for a regular individual event you have to go all the way back to 1995, when Glen Day – nickname “All” – was penalized. (It’s a slightly different story in the majors. For example, who can forget 14-year-old Guan Tianlang getting canned for slow play at the Masters in 2013?)
Penalty shots could mean the difference between finishing, say, runner-up and sixth, which in turn could see a couple of zeroes knocked off the player’s pay check, and that has a knock-on effect when it comes to things like world ranking points, Signature Event eligibility, and even Ryder Cup qualification.
But not only are penalties few and far between, in October the PGA Tour announced it would be REDUCING fines for slow play.
Those found guilty of “Excessive Shot Times” will now pay $5,000 instead of $10,000, while “Bad Times” would see a huge cut from $50,000 to $10,000.
One thing’s for sure, with fans switching off at a worrying rate, it needs addressing and it needs addressing quickly.
About the author
Alex has been in the golf industry since 2007 and has helped shape a number of publications in that time. He joined Today’s Golfer in January 2025 to lead the brand’s news division.
He is a keen golfer who claims to play off 12 and enjoys traveling the world to try new courses. His three favorites are Royal North Devon, the Old Course at St Andrews, and Royal Portrush – with special mentions for Okehampton and Bude & North Cornwall, where he first fell in love with the game.
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Slow play fines on the PGA Tour have been reduced
