Slow Play Files: McGladrey Monday Playoff Edition

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Because 2016 apparently never wants to end, the last fall PGA Tour event will continue a sudden death playoff on Monday morning after failing to finish Sunday night. While two holes of sudden death were played and frankly, based on the number of mentions by all about the darkness, the second hole probably should not have been played.

Most telling was Rich Lerner's mention from the booth that the final round threesomes took five hours on what appeared to be an almost wind-free, crisp fall day at St. Simons Island.

If the Golden Bear had been watching, and he almost surely wasn't, but Jack Nicklaus would have heard that number and said, I just talked at the PGA annual meeting about 5 hours as the death knell for our sport.

Yet on Sunday there was Tim Finchem's vision at its most glaringly tired: players seemingly in slow motion, lacking any fear of penalty, taking their sweet time even as the sun was setting. But all was well because hats came off and hands were shaken to reaffirm that this was a (slow) genteman's game. While this provides a the visual that stirs the souls of Finchem's favorite corporate chieftains, it doesn't move a single sports needle and scenes like this reaffirm that golf is for only those with enough free time to return on a Monday morning.

So the RSM Classic wraps up a day late, minus Billy Horschel, who served up a short putt miss he refused to attribute to the dark playing conditions.

Sean Martin at PGATour.com with this from one of the four still in the playoff:

Hughes considered halting play instead of hitting his 11-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole. Norlander said he couldn’t see the hole once his caddie removed the flagstick. Play will resume at 8 a.m. Monday on the par-3 17th hole. They’ll return to the 18th again if the playoff continues."

“People don't know how dark it is right now,” Villegas said. “It's going to be nice and cold in the morning. We'll be back and try to take another trophy home.”

Here is the Horschel miss, for those who were watching something else (most of you)...