LIV Golf ace Thomas Pieters admitted that he feels that slow play from the stars on the DP World Tour equates to 'cheating' as he engaged in a debate over the issue on social media.
The discourse over the pace of play on the European circuit shows little sign of dying down, with this the latest occasion where a discussion over the problem has emerged in the golfing community. Previously, Mike Lorenzo Vera admitted that a 'fake battle' was being fought over the issue after his complaints at last year's BMW International Open.
Subsequent to this, Eddie Pepperell also implied that players were tacitly accepting monetary penalties in relation to slow play, while claiming that a player had even been landed with fines in excess of £100,000 in 2023. Now, the debate has arisen once more as Pablo Larrazabal invited followers to ask him questions on Twitter/X.
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During the Q&A Pieters asked Pablo Larrazabal: "Why is slow play accepted on the European tour?," as French golfer Romain Langasque was on hand to respond, saying: "Actually a really good question !! maybe because slow player just accept to pay find! They pay to be slow."
Journalist Dimitri Martin then duly asked: "Is this rhetoric, or are players really paying fines voluntarily for slow play?", as Langasque added: "When a player is too slow, he takes "bad time" after the 2nd, it's a fine each time. So for some players it ends high at the end of the year... the penalty point would be more effective
Pieters then replied: "It’s in the R&A’s rule book how much time you can take, so in my eyes they are cheating, before addressing a comment from one user who asked whether slow play was an issue on the LIV circuit, as he added: "Not really no. Difference is the 56 player field so you should’ve have slow play."
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Another follower then pressed him on the subject, saying: "Does the rules officials actually stroking guys make a difference?", to which the Belgian golfer then gave his own opinion on whether punishments would be a way forward, adding: "I would love for that to happen more often yes. It hurts more then a fine."
Previously, Tournament Committee chairman David Howell has insisted that work is being done to clamp down on slow play, as he said on social media: "I won’t bore you with the details, but on top and as well as the hefty fines already mentioned by @PepperellEddie [but] if you are ignorant enough to ignore all the slow play rules you can rack up a two-shot penalty this year on the DP World Tour. We do take slow play seriously."
Meanwhile, Lee Westwood is among those who have hit out at repeat offenders, saying: "Practice rounds out here are way faster than everywhere else. It’s such a joy, and it’s so refreshing to play nine holes in two hours in a practice round. It’s incredible. If the old guys can do it, why can’t the young guys do it?"
