by Charley Hull has slammed “ridiculous” slow play in women’s golf, while insisting serial offenders should be removed from the LPGA Tour.
Hull finished second at Annika Sörenstam’s event in Florida as Nelly Korda claimed her seventh victory of the year. The tournament was overshadowed by problems with pace of play, with Hull among the players who finished their third round in near darkness on Saturday evening. The subject is recurring on the LPGA circuit and shows no signs of disappearing.
Related: Teary Rory McIlroy wins DP World Championship and sixth race in Dubai
Hull has now had enough. “It’s ridiculous,” said the Englishwoman. “I feel sorry for the fans how slow it is. We were there for five hours and 40 minutes in the third round. We play four-ball at home on a hard golf course and we get the round done in three and a half or four hours. It’s pretty crazy.
Referees have the ability to punish players who play slowly. However, sanctions involving stroke penalties or fines are rarely applied at the highest level of women’s or men’s golf. Hull, who is one of the fastest players in the sport’s elite environment, believes golfers should be threatened with being kicked off the LPGA Tour if they don’t play within the stipulated time.
“I’m pretty ruthless but [my idea would be] if you get three bad timings, each time it’s a two-shot penalty,” Hull added. “If you have three, you instantly lose your Tower card. I’m sure this would rush a lot of people and they wouldn’t want to lose their Tour card. It would kill the slow game, but they would never do that.
In 2023, the LPGA Tour reduced the number of players making weekend cuts in an effort to speed up the final 36 holes of the competition. Three years earlier, Stacy Lewis had criticized a “terribly slow game” at the Scottish Open.
Korda pointed out that the third-round scenario at Belleair was far from ideal. “It’s a bit difficult when you can’t really see,” said the world number 1. “I think it was a little bit of poor planning starting so late for us. Anytime you’re sitting down on the 18th and the sun’s already set, I mean, it’s never nice.
Meanwhile, Sergio García is set to join the DP World Tour from LIV in hopes of making an 11th Ryder Cup appearance. Luke Donald, who will captain Europe at Bethpage next year, recently spoke with García about a comeback. The Spaniard’s decision was confirmed on Monday.
García, 44, who joined the Saudi-backed breakaway golf league in 2022, has had to pay substantial fines – estimated at more than £1million – imposed by DP and will also serve a ban. García resigned his DP membership in May 2023 after an arbitration panel ratified the Tour’s right to fine and ban players who participated in LIV events without authorization.
“Sergio García has submitted his application to become a member of the DP World Tour again for the 2025 season before the deadline of Sunday, November 17,” a DP World Tour spokesperson said. “He has paid his fines but will have to serve his suspensions before he can play on the DP World Tour.”
