PGA Tour to implement revised pace-of-play policy in 2021
The PGA Tour will implement its revised pace-of-play policy in January at the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions, according to a report by Golf Channel.
The Tour informed players Friday of the decision previously scheduled to be enacted at the RBC Heritage in April. The plan was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic and the Tour’s resulting 13-week hiatus.
The revised pace-of-play policy revealed in January will punish individual offenders rather than groups out of position as well as create a private observation list and penalties for “excessive shot times.”
The observation list of habitually slow players will include players who take longer than an average of 45 seconds to hit a shot over a 10-tournament period. The 10-tournament period is a rolling window to allow players the opportunity to improve their pace-of-play throughout the season. Players on the secret list will be monitored during rounds and given a 60-second limit on all shots.
Failure to adhere to the time limit will result in a “bad time,” prompting a warning from officials. A second bad time will result in a one-stroke penalty. Each additional bad time will incur another one-stroke penalty. The timing stops if the player goes two holes without a bad time.
The revised policy also increases fines for repeat offenders and those take longer than 120 seconds to hit a shot, otherwise known as “excessive shot times.”
The observation list is not expected to be made public.
“We’re going to focus on the individual habits of the slowest players and the slowest strokes and move in that direction,” PGA Tour senior vice president and chief of operations Tyler Dennis said in January. “These habits are believed to be a significant part of the overall negative perception that pervades the issue of pace of play.”
When the revised policy was introduced in January, Tour players largely applauded the changes.
“It’s been a problem since I’ve played golf. I’m 42 and all we’ve done is talk about it,” Paul Casey said at the 2020 American Express.
The 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions will be held Jan. 4-7 at Kapalua Resort in Kapalua, Maui, Hawaii.
