‘I don’t think that’s fair’: Carlota Ciganda rails against treatment as slow play row rumbles on

Carlota Ciganda says she’s not being treated fairly as the row over slow play carried into the AIG Women’s Open.

Hitting back after refusing to accept a two-shot penalty at the Evian Championship, the Spaniard claimed the process of timing players is “subjective” and argued more would be penalised if referees monitored every group in the field.

Ciganda, who shot a two-under 70 in the first round at Walton Heath, admitted “I’m not quick”, but argued that critics had to understand “that it’s professional golf and we are playing for a living”.

“Sometimes [in the] majors if you hit it in the rough or a bad situation, it’s going to take longer,” she said. “If you make a bogey, it’s just a couple more minutes, so I think they should understand that a bit more.

“They always say the time starts when it’s your turn to play, but when is that?

“It’s just so subjective. I think in the end, if they put a referee in every group, a lot of girls, they will be penalised and I think sometimes it’s not fair.

“I know I’m not quick, like I know that there are a lot of quicker players out there but I think there are a lot of slow players, and they don’t get penalised and they don’t get timed as much as I do, so I don’t think that’s fair.”

The slow play controversy began when Ciganda was timed and then penalised on the final hole of her second round at Evian. She elected not to accept the penalty, left the recorders without altering her card, and was disqualified.

She called the decision “a very poor performance” from the LPGA rules official and added: “They don’t understand what professional golf is about.”

Have other players spoken about slow play?

In her pre-tournament press conference, though, World No. 1 Kelly Korda backed cracking down on slow play in the women’s game.

“I think it should be monitored,” she said. “If I’m being honest. If I was a spectator and I was out here for five and a half hours to six hours, you know, it’s tough to watch.

“You want to watch a sport that’s continuously moving and not continuously stalling. I would say I think it’s really important for the rules officials to enforce The Rules of Golf.”

Asked how much attention she paid to the comments of other players about slow play, Ciganda said: “At the end of the day I’m here to play golf and I’m trying to do my best. I think I am a nice person and I respect everyone when I play, so I just hope they can do the same with me. Some players, they play quicker and some players, they are slower.

“Of course, I can be quicker, but a lot of them, they can be quicker, too. I don’t want to put too much focus. I just play golf and I love what I do, and that’s it.”

NOW READ: ‘It’s tough to watch’: Nelly Korda backs slow play punishments

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