One thing about golf that makes it hard to get into as a spectator is slow-play. The time some players take to carefully line up their shots can be grating. It drags out the game, creates long spans where nothing happens, and wastes the time of the other players. Rory McIlroy felt this during the first round of the Masters when his streak for the event was ruined by a bogey. Despite turning things around in round two and a hot start on Saturday, clearly some players are extremely distracted.
Slow-play At The Masters
During the Masters’ first round, McIlroy was playing with rising star Akshay Bhatia. All was well on the surface, except that Bhatia was taking his time. One shot took three minutes to line up and finally hit it. Commentator Paul McGinley blamed this for McIlroy’s performance, saying he was distracted. McGinely elaborated in an interview with Sky Sports.
“I think he got distracted. It took him a long time to play that pitch shot. His playing partner, Akshay Bhatia, put his second in the water. He took ages to play his shot…he took about 10 practice swings, so A hit took a long time. Then B his ball landed in Rory’s line, so he had to wait for him to walk around the lake to mark his ball. Then, he had to wait for the players to walk off the 16th tee. So he ended up waiting five minutes to play his shot.”
McGinley goes on to say that McIlroy is a quick player and likes to get his shots out as soon as possible before moving on to the next. For someone who plays fast, it is very distracting to see other players take all the time in the world. McGinley also made sure to put the blame on McIlroy’s shoulders for being impatient. He made sure to mention how great players need to keep their concentration no matter what happens.
Slow-Play In The PGA
This brings back the talk around slow-play. McIlroy should have kept his focus, but Bhatia should not have taken so long to make a shot. The PGA has looked into ways to crack down on slow play. There are rules to penalize players who take too long, but slow play persists. There are experimental rules this season, but after seeing Bhatia’s performance, they may need to be tightened.
Currently, Bhatia is facing a lot of criticism for his slow play and is getting some blame for breaking McIlroy’s concentration. As to whether or not he will get penalized is yet to be seen. A criticism of the slow play crackdown is how it is not enforced too well, which has annoyed fans.
What This Means For McIlroy
Rory McIlroy finished seven shots behind the lead player, Justin Rose. Bhatia faired well, hitting three birdies in a row. How impacting slow play is on the game’s top players, is debatable. Still, it needs to be addressed for future events. If not for the players, at least for the fans. After all, golf is still a spectator sport. While McIlroy has since recovered his lead and is looking to secure his green jacket, fans want to see him at his best.
Main Photo Credit: © Katie Goodale-Imagn Images