The slow-play police finally handed out a ticket on Saturday.
England’s Richard Bland was hit with the first slow-play penalty on LIV Golf during the second round of the tournament at Valderrama Golf Club in Spain.
At the 217-yard, par-3 15th hole, Bland took too long to play his tee shot. Here’s the explanation via a statement from LIV.
“In round two, the group of Dean Burmester, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland were officially warned by a rules official after their 4th hole of the day (hole 8) where the group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par,” the release said. “After their 9th hole of the day (hole 13) the group, who had further lost position on the course, was officially timed by a rules official. In accordance with the LIV Golf League Pace of Play Policy, ‘A player has 40 seconds to play each stroke, with an additional 10 seconds if they are the first to play any stroke in the group.’
“On the tee of the 15th hole, Richard Bland, who was first to play, received a time of 84 seconds for his first stroke. This exceeded the allotted time per the policy. Bland was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty. With the one-stroke penalty, Bland’s score of 4 on the par-3 15th hole resulted in a score of 5.”
Explanation of one-stroke penalty assessed to Richard Bland in Saturday’s Rd. 2 #LIVGolf Andalucía pic.twitter.com/t1rqOKT6bu
— LIVGolfComms (@LIVGolfComms) July 1, 2023
Slow play penalties are rare on the PGA Tour. Jon Catlin, who plays regularly on the DP World Tour, was the most recent to be assessed one at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah. But it has been under the spotlight this season despite pace of play being the scourge of the professional game for years. PGA Tour veteran Adam Hadwin noted that his wife, Jessica, called him out recently for his own slow play.
“[She said], ‘You look uncomfortable out there; you look like you’re deciding too much [and] taking too long,’” Hadwin told CBS during his post-round interview at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “[She continued,] ‘It’s not just me. The fans in the crowd at LACC, apparently, were calling me out for it too.’”
Just doing my part in the battle against slow play in golf
https://t.co/ojGbcUsP4I
— Jessica Hadwin (@jessicahadwin) July 1, 2023
Hadwin took note and on Saturday he tied the course record at Detroit Golf Club, shooting 9-under 63 to leap into contention for his second PGA Tour title.