Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images
LIV Golf punished Richard Bland, one of its players, for slow play, something PGA Tour fans have been crying for.
Slow play has been an issue for years in professional golf. LIV Golf finally took action on the slow play as they penalized one of their players for not keeping pace at Valderrama, per a public statement.
Richard Bland received a one-stroke penalty for not improving his pace of play after being asked to speed it up multiple times.
He played alongside Sergio Garcia and Dean Burmester. They were initially warned about their pace of play on their fourth hole, the 8th hole on the course. Officials told them they were out of position.
The group was warned again on the 13th hole, and an official began to time them.
“In accordance with 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,” the statement said.
Bland didn’t improve his pace even with an official timing him.
“On the tee of the 15th hole, Richard Bland, who was the first to play, received a time of 84 seconds for his first stroke,” the statement said. “This exceeded the allotted time per the policy. Bland was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty.”
With that penalty, Bland received a score of 5 instead of a 4 on the 15th. That penalty cost him shooting even par, as he carded a 1-over 73 Saturday.
Slow play has been an issue, but LIV Golf actually followed the policy and assessed the stroke penalty. The PGA Tour doesn’t consistently enforce that stroke penalty, which causes more discussion. LIV is setting the tone, and hopefully, this will not just improve Bland’s pace of play but show others it will happen.
And no, the irony of a gentleman named Bland being assessed a penalty for slow play is not lost on us.
Do you think the PGA Tour should be enforcing this rule more vigorously? Let us know in the comments below.
