Nelly Korda joins Lexi Thompson, Charley Hull, gives gradual play treatment

Gradual play has been a pertinent subject of debate on the LPGA this season. And the largest stars within the sport have had sufficient.

Two days after profitable her seventh occasion of the season at The ANNIKA, Nelly Korda fielded a query concerning the glacial tempo of play that has plagued the LPGA for years. She provided a easy but efficient answer, one which must be enforced time and time once more.

“Gamers simply have to be penalized,” Korda stated blatantly.

“Guidelines officers want to observe from the primary group. As soon as they get two minutes behind, one minute behind, it simply slows every thing down.”

Korda’s feedback got here quickly after Lexi Thompson took a shot on the LPGA’s gradual tempo of play. Thompson talked about how aggressive rounds shouldn’t take greater than 4 and a half hours, which was not the case on Sunday at The ANNIKA. Korda’s group, which included Charley Hull and Weiwei Zhang, took greater than 5 hours to trudge round Pelican Golf Membership.

Picture by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Photographs

“I personally suppose it’s a fairly large situation. I feel it’s not good for the followers that come out and watch us,” Korda added.

“If it was me personally, I might be very, very irritated looking ahead to 5 hours, over 5 hours, 5 hours and 40 minutes, shut to 6. I simply suppose it actually drags the sport down.”

After this previous weekend, Hull, who tied for second and completed three strokes behind Korda, provided a “ruthless” answer to the tempo of play situation. She and Korda additionally accomplished their third rounds at the hours of darkness.

“I’m fairly ruthless,” Hull stated.

“Hear, in the event you get three unhealthy timings, each time it’s a tee shot penalty; when you have three of them, you lose your Tour card immediately. I’m certain that might hurry lots of people up, they usually received’t wish to lose their Tour card. That will kill the gradual play, however they’d by no means do this.”

Maybe the LPGA ought to at the very least entertain Hull’s thought. Thompson stated she “didn’t disagree with it.” Korda referred to as it “humorous.”

However you realize what’s not humorous? When a participant stands within the fairway, ready to play their shot whereas a fellow competitor takes two or three minutes to line up a putt from inside 5 ft up on the inexperienced. It’s infuriating to everybody concerned.

“I’m hitting proper after the particular person in entrance of me simply hit,” Korda stated.

“I feel folks simply have to be — folks overanalyze, one, and I feel folks simply have to be prepared quicker. Individuals begin their course of slightly too late and stand over it for too lengthy. We’d like extra folks on the bottom to observe the tempo of play. I don’t suppose we now have sufficient folks to observe it.”

Maybe that’s the treatment the LPGA wants: extra officers on the bottom to implement the tempo of play. That will assist, at the very least in Korda’s thoughts.

Regardless, the LPGA can’t proceed to do what it has performed for fairly a while: sit idly by, simply as Korda did on the tee and within the fairway on so many events this previous week.

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By. Remember to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.