'I Just Think It Really Drags The Game Down' - LPGA Tour Stars Weigh In On Slow Play Debate

Nelly Korda, Lexi Thompson and Lydia Ko have offered their thoughts on the slow play issue in the women’s game days after Charley Hull said “I feel sorry for the fans” and suggested players should lose their tour card if they get three bad timings.

Korda, who held off the challenge of Hull to claim her seventh win of the season in the Annika Driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, agreed with the English star that it’s a problem that needs addressing.

Ahead of the season-closing CME Group Tour Championship, she said: “I personally think it's a pretty big issue. I think it's not good for the fans that come out and watch us.

“If it was me personally, I would be very, very annoyed watching for five hours, over five hours, five hours and 40 minutes, close to six. I just think it really drags the game down. I think that it really, really needs to change.”

However, she wouldn’t go as far as Hull in an effort to solve the issue, and instead suggested more rules officials monitoring the pace of play could encourage an improvement.

She explained: “Players just need to be penalized. Rules officials need to watch from the first group."

She went on: “I think people just need to be ready faster. People start their process a little too late and they stand over it too long. Again, I think we need more people on the ground to monitor pace of play. I don't think we have enough people to monitor it.”

Thompson is preparing for her last outing as a full-time LPGA Tour pro at this week’s tournament, notwithstanding an appearance in the PGA Tour co-sanctioned Grant Thornton Invitational.

The vastly experienced American agreed that rounds are taking too long, and also thinks the problem is getting worse rather than better.

She said: “Yes, I definitely think it's an issue. Rounds shouldn't be taking more than four and a half hours, especially in threesomes. Four and a half should be the max.

“Look, you're going to hit a good shot or bad shot. Might as well not take that much time over it. It's just a game. Just do your routine, commit, and hit it. It's definitely a problem out here right now. So I don't know what we'll do to try to get it resolved but hopefully just play quicker.”

“I don't really know why it's gotten worse, but it has unfortunately,” she added. “There needs to be something done.”

One player who thinks there are mitigating circumstances is Lydia Ko, who believes the pace of play can be determined by different factors, including the course and what’s at stake.

She said: “I honestly think the biggest thing is like just the situation. If it did take longer last week I think there are two factors. Golf course was tough, and the second thing is there were players trying to get their card or work their way into CME. So like all these kind of situations I think play a factor.

"It doesn't mean that, oh, yes then you should take longer or not be able to take longer. I just think those are the variables that you have to take into account when we have longer rounds than maybe usual.”

Ko is also not convinced penalizing players will be the magic bullet to ensure play speeds up. She added: “I believe that everybody is doing their best, and as players we're always going to continuously do better to try and keep up with the pace of play. I don't know if one strategy or one way is going to instantly make a round 30 minutes faster.”