Jay Monahan has not endeared himself to any of the golfing fans. The PGA Tour commissioner has been facing criticism on multiple fronts, including delaying the potential PGA-PIF deal that brings in Saudi-backed investment to the PGA Tour. Another big criticism of his has been his inability to address the issue of the slow pace of play on the Tour.
The pace of play is one issue that has been a talking point ever since the inception of golf. But, in recent times, the issue has reared its ugly head again with broadcasters calling out the pace of play live on air. “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,” former LPGA Pro Dottie Pepper exclaimed to her fellow broadcaster Frank Nobilo, “For your fellow competitors, for the fans, for broadcasts, for all of it. It’s just gotta get better.”
And even Collin Morikawa thinks so. But with some caveats. Speaking to the press ahead of the Genesis Invitational at the Torrey Pines Golf Course, Morikawa felt that while slow play is an issue, the broadcast could do a much better job of addressing it.“With the aspect of the fans, I mean, I realize they’re complaining about slow play, but if you showed them more shots I don’t think they would complain about the slow play, right? How would they know if it’s slow play or not if they’re seeing more shots in general in the window of the coverage?”
However, it is not just the fans who are bothered by the slow play. At the Annika last year on the LPGA Tour, Nelly Korda and Charley Hull were forced to finish their Round 3 in the dark. The broadcast which was supposed to end at 5 pm ended at 5:51 pm. The total time taken was a brutally slow five hours and 38 minutes. Such difficulties are also a by-product of maintaining a slow pace on the course. “But it is an issue on the Tour. By no means is it something that should be looked over. It should be solved”.
RECORD DATE NOT STATED 4th October 2024 Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland Alfred Dunhill Links Golf Championship, Round 2 Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA, Golf Herren TOUR, hits a shot from the fairway on the sixth hole on Kingsbarns Golf Links, during the second round of the Dunhill Links Championship PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxUK ActionPlus12699793 DavidxYoung
Morikawa believes that some sort of punishment needs to be devised that fits the crime. He drew comparisons with a technical foul in NBA—a call made by the referee when a player acts inappropriately on the basketball court. A similar system of fines or penalties need to be enforced by the PGA Tour. “It’s just like the NBA, like the technicals, right? Some guys are OK with getting fined every week for teasing. If guys are OK getting technicals and getting penalties out here on Tour because they’re slow, so be it.”, said Morikawa.
The two-time major winner was also all praise for what the LPGA Tour has been doing to address slow play. “Obviously you see what the LPGA’s doing. You need to start fining people. Look, if I got slapped on the wrist and got a fine like absolutely would I not want to be fined again.” But these changes did not happen just like that.
What can Jay Monahan learn from the LPGA Tour
The LPGA has taken drastic measures to address the persistent slow-play issue, ever since the Hull-Korda incident at The Annika. Mollie Marcoux Samaan, former LPGA Commissioner had called for a slow-play committee to be formed right after the incident.
The committee held several meetings during the offseason to discuss how to address the pace of play. The effort put forth by the committee materialized in the form of a new policy that is set to roll out from the Ford Championship taking place in late March.
“I think that implementing harsher rules is going to be good for the game of golf. They were saying at the meeting, at the end of the day, we’re a form of entertainment. If we’re taking really long out there, I mean, that’s not entertaining,” explained Nelly Korda, lending her agreement to the new changes. Australian pro golfer Minjee Lee was also happy with the new policy.
And it is not just the new policy that the LPGA Tour is getting right. After displaying a very slow pace at the Annika last year (5 hours and 38 minutes), the female golfers stepped up at the recently concluded Founders Cup finishing with an average time period of 3 hrs and 42 minutes— nearly two-hour improvement.
LPGA players were moving during the Founders Cup. pic.twitter.com/XznwPQ4ccx
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) February 10, 2025
The improvement in the pace of play on the LPGA Tour Circuit is a clear indication of collective ownership, something that the PGA Tour needs to learn from. And it is not just Jay Monahan who needs to work on it. All the players need to as well. What do you think?
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