Euro Tour Showing The PGA Tour How To Enforce Faster Play

The Euro Tour is trying everything to enhance the entertainment value and yes, pace of play. While the PGA Tour pussyfoots around, its Euro sibling is making nice strides to keep the golfers from snailing up the events.

Morning Read’s Alistair Tate reveals how the Euro officials are staying true to their word.

“Our aspirational goal is to cut 15 minutes off a round on a daily basis,” CEO Keith Pelley said. “We feel that is significant. It’s a positive first step. We will continue to work closely with our players, closely with the R&A in other ways of making our game quicker.”

However, the plan has had its challenges.

Matters reached a head last year when Edoardo Molinari had a very public head off. He tweeted a complaint about taking 5½ hours in the Trophee Massan II in Morocco. Molinari, the older brother of former Masters champion Francesco Molinari, went further when he publicly outed the usual suspects by posting a list of repeat offenders on his Twitter feed.

The 2019 season featured a plethora of other slow-play incidents that did the game no favors. Footage of DeChambeau taking more than two minutes on a 10-foot putt in the Northern Trust went viral. In the women’s Solheim Cup, four-ball rounds pushed the six-hour mark, yet no loss-of-hole penalties were assessed.

“The feedback I’ve had from players who have played with those players known to be on the slower side, shall we say, is that our new regulations seem to be working,” Howell wrote. “I’ve heard some glowing praise about the speed some players have played over the last few weeks. Everyone seems to be more aware now.

“A little kick up the backside for certain people is sometimes what is needed, and people are starting to realise they can play just as well if you play a little quicker and you play ready golf. Most of the guys seem prepared to do that and that’s the way it should be.

Baby steps are better than none at all. Are you listening PGA Tour?