PGA Tour slow play debate rears its head at Players Championship

Peter Malnati hates how long it takes to play a round on the PGA Tour.

Speaking as a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, Malnati wished that players could increase their pace on the course but, in the same breath, said this issue shouldn’t stop the tour from using golf courses as tough as TPC Sawgrass, the host of The Players Championship.

Both the first round and the second round on the Stadium Course were suspended by darkness before every player completed 18 holes. A handful were required to complete their second rounds on Saturday morning, with Ben Silverman and Ryo Hisatsune on the brink of making the 36-hole cut but ultimately falling short when returning to the course at the crack of dawn.

Play on Thursday and Friday was blessed with complete sunshine and blue sky without a hint of darkness which is why NCG asked the one-time PGA Tour winner if slow play was the cause for the competition’s second round extending into day three.

“It’s interesting. Playing on the PGA Tour takes way too long, yes,” Malnati said after carding a superb 66 on Saturday. “But when you put us on a golf course like this where any little, minute error causes you to be in a spot where you’ve got to do some serious thinking…

“We need to play faster on the PGA Tour, we should be getting done when we have perfect weather and a 144-man field this time of year. We should be getting done, but there’s a balance to be struck.

ALSO: PGA Tour introduces new slow play punishment for 2024

“We want hard golf courses that challenge the best players in the world and when you do that, you create situations where you end up with a guy like – a 10-minute argument over where Rory should drop on the 7th hole, those are all fast players in that group.

“I hate that it takes so long to play on the PGA Tour. I wish as PGA Tour players that we all played faster, but I also want to keep playing golf courses like this and I want them to be as challenging as they can be, so is it a problem? Maybe, I’d rather take this golf course than make the golf courses easier to fix it.”

PGA Tour slow play debate rears its head at The Players Championship

Malnati referred to the rules dispute between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth from the 7th hole in the first round when the pair discussed whether McIlroy’s tee shot landed above or below the red hazard line before trickling in the water.

In the case of Silverman, he told the PGA Tour that he wanted “ideal daylight” to play his third shot on the 9th hole from 109 yards, the spot he reached before play was suspended in round two, which needed to find the bottom of the cup for an eagle if he was to play at the weekend.

He went on to make a bogey despite an early, lengthy range session to prepare for his big moment. The second round restarted on Saturday at 7.38 am local time and concluded at 7.50 am, meaning just 12 minutes were needed for Silverman and Hisatsune to complete 36 holes.

The Players Championship is a full-field event with 144 players competing. The final tee time in each of the first two rounds was 2.46 pm and play was suspended at 7.32 pm and 7.30 pm respectively.

Five-time PGA Tour winner and US Ryder Cup player Sam Burns was also asked to comment on the failure of some players to complete their rounds before the sun disappeared into the distance.

“It’s a big field, 144 guys. It is challenging sometimes with daylight to get all 144 guys around. I mean, it’s a challenging golf course, and especially guys who are around that cut number, you don’t really want to rush there at the end.

“Probably some guys who may have could have finished if they were either way in or way out, but if you’re around that cut number, to come back this morning and give yourself a better chance makes sense.”

NOW READ: Hurry up! LIV Golf star stung with slow play penalty and hefty fine

NOW READ: DP World Tour player stung with over £100k in slow play fines

The golf slow play debate is as old as time itself! What do you make of this PGA Tour slow play chapter? Tell us on X!

Matt Chivers

Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.

Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.

Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.

Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.

Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.

What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.