Sign up for our daily newsletter
Latest news, reviews, analysis and opinion, plus unmissable deals for bunkered subscriptions, events, and our commercial partners.
If you need proof that slow play is a problem that affects every level of the game, look no further.
The clip below is from the final of the US Junior Girls Championship contested by the USA’s Jillian Bourdage and Ye Lei of China.
A tight match was ultimately won by Lei on the 36th hole but that was over-shadowed by the amount of time it took 17-year-old Bourdage to hit a short putt on the 31st hole of their head-to-head at SentryWorld in Stevens Point.
• 5 huge names who could lose their cards this week
• Sergio Garcia digs up tee box in yet another tantrum
After missing a birdie putt to square the match, Bourdage was left with a three-foot putt for a halve to remain one-down with five holes to play. Almost a minute-and-a-half passed before she hit the stroke.
Watch the footage for yourself…
friend just sent me this from the US Girls Junior… Trickle down effects of slow play on a 3 foot comebacker pic.twitter.com/trYC2vZZIo
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) July 30, 2019
• Lexi Thompson makes major blunder at WBO
Tough watch, isn’t it?
The clip has since gone viral , attracting attention of some of the world’s top golfers in the process.
Man that’s a painful watch.
— Eddie Pepperell (@PepperellEddie) July 30, 2019
I watched her miss, then stepped out, got a haircut, washed the car, saw a movie, picked up the dry cleaning, went to the bank about a home loan, read all the Shakespeare works, went to grocery store, came back to watch her pick it up out of the hole. Whew!
— Rich Beem (@beemerpga) July 30, 2019
Oh my goodness… it’s going to be a painful learning curve for this woman… and those playing behind her
— Nick Dougherty (@NickDougherty5) July 30, 2019
It begs an interesting question, though. Why didn’t a rules official deal with this? Indeed, why aren’t rules officials dealing with slow play more generally?
The issue is reaching epidemic levels at the top of the game – just ask world Brooks Koepka – but nothing ever seems to be done about it.
Europe’s 2018 Ryder Cup-winning captain Thomas Bjorn chimed in with some thoughts…
Let me clarify one thing….
Professional golfers set the tone for what is acceptable in the game.
Way too many players don’t care about fines as the financial upside of “taking too much time” outweighs the size of the fines.
Stroke penalty is the only way forward.— Thomas Bjorn (@thomasbjorngolf) July 31, 2019
Your thoughts…
How do you think golf should tackle slow play ? Leave your thoughts in our Comments section below.
ALL ABOUT THE OPEN
More Reads

The bunkered Golf Course Guide - Scotland
Now, with bunkered, you can discover the golf courses Scotland has to offer. Trust us, you will not be disappointed.
Find Courses