Pressel: "It was just a very bizarre situation on the golf course today."
/I watched the Morgan Pressel slow play episode as Golf Channel aired its tape-delay coverage of the Sybase Match Play, I've read about all the coverage I can get my hands on, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find much from the LPGA officials on how things went down.
So that leaves things a bit unclear still on how this went down and why exactly Pressel was blamed for pace that Munoz admitted she impacted with her own deliberate approach.
From a follow-up story by Tom Canavan to the original piece filed this morning.
The time penalty was the first for Pressel in seven years on the tour and it left a bad taste in her mouth.
"I think that slow play is one of our biggest problems on tour," Pressel said. "You know, I think that what bothers me the most is that we were given sufficient warning and she really didn't do anything to speed up and then I was penalized for it."
An apologetic Munoz said she was surprised Pressel was penalized.
"I know I was slow and I really apologized for that and I told her, but I do feel both of us were slow and she was the only one getting penalized, and that was not fair and I know that," Munoz said. "I would never make her lose a hole."
The post round interviews were anything but dull. First, Munoz.
Q. When Morgan was in here with us, she was very emotional. Obviously, you know, after losing, it didn't help. What she said late in her press conference was that when the officials put you guys on the clock, she felt that she had tried to speed up and you did not and she was penalized for your slow play. How do you feel about that?
AZAHARA MUNOZ: Yeah, actually, that's one of the things I told her. I felt bad because I know I'm on the borderline to being a slow player, but, you know, this morning, she was slow, too. She backed off ‑‑ because she was always first, she backed off a lot of shots. You know, the wind was gusting.
So I know I was slow and I really apologized for that and I told her, but I do feel both of us were slow and she was the only one getting penalized, and that was not fair and I know that. I would never make her lose a hole.
So when they came to talk to us, I was really surprised, especially after she just went 3‑up and all of a sudden she was only 1‑up. So that was a big difference and I know that, so I do feel bad for that.
Q. One other follow‑up question. A lot of people are going to call this victory controversial or tainted or whatever word they want to use. You've waited so long to win, does it take anything away that those words are being used?AZAHARA MUNOZ: I don't care what ‑‑ you guys (the media) are the ones that are going to say that, not people. You guys can say whatever you want to. You know, I didn't do anything wrong. She lost the hole because she was slow, I wasn't. I was slow before, but not when the clock was on and that's when you can't be slow.
Ouch!
And now Pressel.
Q. Morgan, on the 12th hole, it was quite gusty, the wind was blowing. If I believe, you changed from one hybrid to another. Can you talk about the tee shot there, and did you feel like you were taking a long time to play that shot?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, certainly changing clubs added to my ‑‑ to the time that it took me to hit the shot, but it was a little bit windy. I had a 5‑hybrid, and I felt like the wind was gusting a little bit more, so I pulled out the 4. The funny thing is, if I wouldn't have had the honor, that probably wouldn't have happened. And, you know, it was strange because we had been warned for about four holes, and then all of a sudden at that point they chose to put us on the clock. It was just a very bizarre situation on the golf course today.
Q. You're not a slow player, you know, per se. I mean, was her slowness in the sense that she might have been slower than you and you got penalized because she was slower than you?
MORGAN PRESSEL: Well, she was definitely slower than I was. You know, in seven years on Tour, I've never had even a plus time, and this is probably the worst time it could have come.
And then there was this chance for Morgan to score some points and for me, she did!
Q. Are you all right? I think we all play golf because we love the game and we have a lot of fun out there. Is this possibly the worst thing that's ever happened to you?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I don't need to answer that one.Q. Do you think, Morgan, even what happened to you today, that the LPGA's slow play policy is a good one, that it does keep the pace up week to week?
MORGAN PRESSEL: I ‑‑ no. I think that slow play is one of our biggest problems on Tour. You know, I think that what bothers me the most is that we were given sufficient warning and she really didn't do anything to speed up and then I was penalized for it.
I just don't sense that these two will be having dinner anytime soon.
As for reaction, Farrell Evans says the "LPGA deserves credit for enforcing a slow-play penalty, something the PGA Tour has been reluctant to do over the years."
Herre: Pace of play should be strictly enforced at all levels of competitive golf. It can be done. For years, the AJGA has employed a brilliant system that really works. Congratulations to the LPGA. Slow-play penalties should be part of the game. If a player knows that, he/she will make every effort to avoid them.
Van Sickle: If you bitched about slow play, you can't bitch about doling out penalties. All you can ask is that the rules are enforced evenly and fairly. I'm giving the LPGA kudos for finally doing something about it, especially when it was completely and shockingly ignored at Oakmont during the Women's Open.
Morfit: It's ironic that this happens with just four players on the course. How much is that really going to speed up play? Geoff Ogilvy was saying at the Players that he and some other non-slowpokes would voluntarily take a one-shot penalty just to scare the turtles.
Reiterman: Loved it. Someone enforced a rule! Genius! What made it even better was Pressel said after the match, "I didn't think that was actually going to happen."
Van Sickle: Slow play continues because there is no fear of repercussion. Even fines, when you're playing for a $1.2 million first prize, are inconsequential. Strokes are the only prescription for this fever.
