PGA Tour chief denies slow play issues

• PGA Tour chief denies slow play is a growing issue in pro golf
• Says the time taken for rounds hasn’t changed since 2000
• Last stroke penalty for slow play on PGA Tour was in 1995

New PGA Tour chief Jay Monahan believes slow play isn’t an issue in the professional game.

The commissioner, who replaced long-serving Tim Finchem at the beginning of the year, says there has been no change in the time taken by players to complete their rounds.

“It takes a player 38 seconds to execute their shot” – Jay Monahan

“You look back to 2000,” he said. “It took four hours and 45 minutes on Thursday and Friday to play 18 holes for our players.

Read more -> Jason Day ‘doesn’t care’ about speeding up

“It took three hours and 49 minutes on Saturday and Sunday – and that’s the same amount of time it takes today. It takes a player 38 seconds to execute their shot.”

When it was put to Monahan that not all players take 38 seconds, he responded: “Well, no, but at the average. One of the things that we look at is we’ve got a commitment to you.

“We feel like we’ve made some really good adjustments” – Jay Monahan

“We’re putting our product forward within a timeframe, and we seem to complete our tournaments on time week in and week out with very few exceptions.

“We’re looking at the data. We’re trying to find ways to continue to improve. But we feel like we’ve made some really good adjustments in the last couple of years.”

Read more -> Jordan Spieth vows to speed up pace of play

Monahan’s comments come days after world No.1 Jason Day said he ‘didn’t care much’ about speeding up his play – remarks that were criticised by PGA Tour duo Brandt Snedeker and Billy Horschel.

You have to go back 22 years to find the most recent stroke penalty for slow play on the PGA Tour, with Glen Day the recipient at the 1995 Honda Classic.

However, a one-stroke penalty for slow play was given to 14-year-old amateur Tianlang Guan at the 2013 Masters.

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