On The Clock – Needs Fixing
January 6, 2007 by admin
While watching the third round of the Mercedes Benz Championship at Kapalua, co-leader (at the time) Will McKenzie and his playing partner J.B. Holmes were “put on the clock” by Tour officials because of their slow play. However, there is something inherently wrong with putting both players on the clock. If it is deemed by the officials that the two-some do not pick up their pace of play, they could be penalized as outline below by the PGA:
- One bad time during a round is a warning.
- Two bad times are a one-stroke penalty and a $5,000 fine.
- Three bad times is a two-stroke penalty and a $10,000 fine.
- Four bad times means the player is disqualified.
The PGA players and officials know who the slow play culprits are, year in and year out and it’s completely unfair to penalize both players for one player’s behavior. In today’s round, you could tell McKenzie’s demeanor and resultant play changed once he found out he was on the clock. The tour needs to refine the policy and target the player that’s causing the slow play.