Tianlang Guan copped a penalty for slow play on Friday afternoon. And so he should have. Slow play is a blight on the game and the sooner the game’s hierarchy stamp it out the better. It was unfortunate for the 14 year-old to be on the receiving end, but just maybe his penalty will highlight the issue to the millions of golfers watching. Slow play shouldn’t be tolerated. And if a warning or two isn’t going to be heard, then the only option is to penalise players where it hurts.
I just hope that tournament officials can show some sort of consistency and penalise the pros, even those who are leading tournaments. A year or two of diligent application should see slow play a thing of the past. At least I hope so.
Tiger Woods’s penalty is an entirely different thing and it’s an overreaction to say he should have been disqualified.
Tiger may have dropped the ball incorrectly but was allowed to play on due to a rule change – a good rule change that allows penalty strokes to be added if more information comes to hand after the signing of the card. Love it or hate it, them the rules. You can’t have it both ways and say the rules need to be adhered to one minute but ask for a disqualification another because you don’t agree with them.
Not sure why these things happen. Why isn’t there an official in all groups ensuring penalty drops etc have been done correctly? The rules at best are unclear. At worst they are confusing. Even David Feherty during the telecast wasn’t sure what drop options Tiger had.
We all need to take a deep breath here and get on with enjoying the golf. And just maybe an Aussie is on the brink of a long overdue victory.