The LPGA introduced its new pace-of-play coverage Thursday that features decrease timing thresholds for fines and penalties, together with a brand new one-stroke penalty for golfers who take too lengthy to hit their photographs.
The circuit mentioned the brand new coverage, which is designed to hurry up play on the ladies’s professional tour, will go into impact on the Ford Championship on March 27. It can even be enforced on the Epson Tour beginning on the IOA Championship on April 25.
The brand new coverage requires a advantageous for any golfer who’s 1 to five seconds over their allotted time on a gap, a one-stroke penalty for these 6 to fifteen seconds over and a two-stroke penalty for these 16 seconds over or extra.
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Beforehand, the LPGA fined golfers who had been 1 to 10 seconds over the allotted time and assessed a two-stroke penalty to those that had been greater than 11 seconds over.
“This new coverage, which was player-led and developed by a longtime Tempo of Play Committee, was created in what we imagine is in the very best curiosity of our model, followers and the general LPGA watching expertise,” LPGA participant president Vicki Goetze-Ackerman mentioned in an announcement. “Based mostly on a data-backed method and direct participant enter, this coverage now acts as a stronger deterrent, guaranteeing gamers take warnings significantly earlier than penalties turn out to be obligatory.
“Our total intention is to enhance the tempo of play on tour, and these updates mark a big step towards making a extra environment friendly and satisfying aggressive surroundings, benefiting each our Members and our followers.”
LPGA golfers had been knowledgeable of the brand new coverage final week throughout a gathering on the Founders Cup in Bradenton, Florida.
The LPGA mentioned golfers hitting first on par 4s and 5s will not obtain an extra 10 seconds, besides on reachable par 4s. Golfers hitting first on par 3s, method photographs and putts will nonetheless obtain an extra 10 seconds. Gamers, for instance, get 120 seconds to play a gap that requires them to take 4 strokes.
Golfers will nonetheless be warned and timed earlier than fines and stroke penalties are levied. The tour mentioned the fines incurred because of the accumulation of plus instances and extreme shot timing will double every consecutive yr a participant violates the coverage.
“I am very enthusiastic about it,” world No. 1 Nelly Korda mentioned final week. “I believe that is one of many issues that I’ve simply seen over my time on tour is that we used to go from 5 hours, underneath 5 hours, to now you it is simply 5 and a half, usually, our rounds.
“So I believe that implementing harsher guidelines goes to be good for the sport of golf. They had been saying on the assembly on the finish of the day we’re a type of leisure. If we’re taking actually lengthy on the market, I imply, that is not entertaining.”
In line with Golfweek, the median time for threesomes in Rounds 1 and a pair of on the Founders Cup was 4 hours, 31 minutes and 4 hours, 23 minutes, respectively. The common last spherical on Sunday was 3 hours, 48 minutes.
