There’s a unique kind of tension in golf that has nothing to do with missed cuts or blown leads. It builds quietly, hole by hole, until someone mutters it under their breath—’he’s taking forever’. Then the clocks come out. Group chats light up. Broadcasts grow passive-aggressive. And suddenly, the conversation isn’t about birdies or bogeys—it’s about seconds. Because in a sport obsessed with time and tempo, nothing gets under fans’ skin like a player who lingers. And fair or not, once you’re branded with that scarlet ‘S’—for slow—it tends to stick. Even if, deep down, you know the truth might be a whole lot funnier than fiction.
Imagine being labeled the slowest player on the PGA Tour. Every time you line up a putt, the internet clocks in. Every approach shot sparks a group text: ‘Is he still standing over that ball?’ And yet, deep down, you’re convinced you’re not just keeping pace—you might actually be one of the quicker guys out there. That’s the curious, slightly ironic case of this PGA Tour pro. Turns out, sometimes the game isn’t slow… it’s just misunderstood.
Brian Harman has been grinding away on the PGA Tour long enough to know that reputations stick. The Georgia native, known for his left-handed swing and deadeye putting, has built a rock-solid career on ball control, mental toughness, and a short game sharper than a Harbour Town breeze. From gritty top-10 finishes to his career-defining triumph at the 2023 Open Championship—where he won by six shots in a soggy, stunned Hoylake—Harman has earned his respect the hard way.
But for all that he’s accomplished, Harman’s name has become synonymous with something far less flattering on Tour message boards and social media threads: slow play. The fans have noticed. The memes have flown. And if you spend any time in the darker corners of golf Twitter, you’d think Harman was personally responsible for every 5+ hour round in PGA Tour history.
Of course, like most things in golf, the reality is more nuanced. Harman plays methodical golf, sure—but he’s not out there taking nap breaks between shots. Still, it’s a label that’s stuck to him like pine straw in his spikes. Which is what made Friday’s interview at the 2025 RBC Heritage so eye-opening. Harman, fresh off a brisk sub-four-hour round at Harbour Town, was asked about the surprisingly snappy pace of play. And just like that, golf’s so-called “slowest player” delivered one of the most ironically self-aware sequences we’ve heard in a while.
“I think, if you went back and looked at historically what our Saturdays and Sundays here were in twosomes, they would be right around the same,” he began, calmly breaking down the context like someone who’s been waiting to say this for a while. Then came the twist: “In a twosome, if you are a slow player, you can’t really hide. I would bet you everyone in a twosome plays faster than they do in a threesome anyway.” You could almost hear the golf gods chuckling. There he was, Brian Harman—public enemy number one for golf’s pace-of-play warriors—explaining why twosomes speed things up. And not only that, but championing the exact rhythm so many fans have begged for.
He didn’t stop there. Harman leaned into the broader issue, explaining why rounds drag on in the first place. “In threesomes with split tees, there’s nowhere to go. You just can’t play,” he said. “We would be probably 4:45 to 5 in threesomes here off of two tees.” Translation: It’s not always the players—it’s the structure. “The TOUR is trying to figure out how we’re going to balance it,” Harman continued. “I don’t think the TOUR really wants to shrink fields, but we can’t finish in daylight. The courses get harder every year. Guys take longer because the courses are harder, and we can’t finish.”
And just when you thought the irony had peaked, Harman went ahead and reminded everyone: he actually likes playing fast. “I’ve always enjoyed faster play anyway since I was a kid,” he said, offering a personal wrinkle that may surprise even his most vocal critics. Then came the kicker—practical, unpretentious, and extremely Brian Harman. “It certainly helps get in a rhythm. If you’re standing around watching the group in front of you all day, it’s hard—you have to find things to occupy your mind.”
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – SEPTEMBER 24: Brian Harman of the U.S. Team looks on prior to the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on September 24, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The irony is almost poetic. Brian Harman, the guy who’s been roasted online for taking too long, is not just defending the idea of quicker golf, he’s advocating for it. But that’s the thing about Harman. He’s not slow because he enjoys it. He’s slow because sometimes, in the furnace of Tour-level pressure and increasingly demanding setups, precision takes time. And when the conditions allow? He’s more than happy to pick up the pace.
So, the next time you see someone complaining about Harman taking too long to hit a wedge, remember: even he prefers when things move. Especially when he’s playing well, which he is this week at Harbour Town. Call it ironic. Call it redemption. Just don’t call him unaware.
Who are some other usual suspects of slow play?
Of course Harman isn’t the only one wearing the slow-play scarlet letter on the PGA Tour. In fact, his name might only be the most recent to join a group that’s had its fair share of side-eyes and stopwatch jokes. Take Patrick Cantlay, for example—a man so famously deliberate that Brooks Koepka practically aged a year during last year’s Masters waiting for him to pull the trigger. Cantlay himself has leaned into the reputation, once admitting, “I’m definitely slower than average, have been my whole career.” Honesty points, sure. But fans still haven’t quite let it go.
Then there’s Tom Kim, the rising star with boundless energy—until he’s over the ball. During the 2024 Travelers Championship, Kim took a whopping 1 minute and 23 seconds to hit a single shot, nearly tripling the Tour’s recommended time. And the reactions? Predictably brutal. Kim’s exuberance might charm the media room, but on the fairways, it’s often been met with impatient sighs.
In a way, Harman’s just part of a much bigger story—one where precision, personality, and pressure often collide with the ticking clock. He’s not alone. He’s just the one brave enough to talk about it… in under four hours.
The post Accused of Slow Play, PGA Tour Pro Makes Ironic Confession About Pace of Play Issue: ‘Don’t Think Tour Really Wants’ appeared first on EssentiallySports.
