FRISCO, Texas — Padraig Harrington plays his shot from the 13th tee during the final round of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco. | Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images
The PGA of America allowed yardage-measuring devices at the PGA and Senior PGA Championships. Perhaps the PGA Tour should adopt them too.
Padraig Harrington played well at the 2023 KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, but an untimely bathroom break and a pushed tee shot at the lone playoff hole led to a second-place finish for the Irishman.
Steve Stricker bested Harrington on the extra hole, claiming his sixth senior major.
Despite Harrington just missing out, he left Texas with a major takeaway that may help improve the pace of play on the Tour.
He supports the use of yardage-measuring devices, or range-finders, in competition.
Amateur golfers worldwide use range-finders daily, quickly getting their distance and selecting a club.
Meanwhile, professionals rely on their yardage books and their caddy’s advice to pick a club. The PGA Tour has yet to authorize the use of range-finders in competition.
Consequently, slow play has frustrated professionals for years, as some players can not decide what club to hit or what type of shot to play.
Brooks Koepka cited slow play at the 2023 Masters, calling it “brutally slow,” per GOLF.com.
A week later, at the RBC Heritage, Matt Fitzpatrick, who defeated Jordan Spieth in a playoff, slammed the pace of play in a post-round interview with Sky Sports.
“I think they give us way too much leeway to get around,” Fitzpatrick said to Sky Sports. “If you’re a three-ball, in my opinion, you should get around in four hours. 4 1/2 [hours] absolute maximum. It’s a disgrace to get anywhere near that. You’re talking 5:15 and 5 1/2 [hours] in some venues, and it’s truly appalling.”
Yet, the PGA of America, which differs from the PGA Tour, has allowed players to use range-finders in their championships since 2021, when Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
Perhaps the Tour should seek Harrington’s advice and adopt the PGA of America’s policy.
It would be a step in the right direction in addressing the prolonged pace-of-play problem.
