U.S. Girls' Junior Finalists Got Over Four Hours To Play 18 Holes...
/Jillian Bourdage lost to Lei Ye in the U.S. Girls’ Junior and a few days later, he deliberate pace was noted on Twitter.
The pre-shot routine for a very short putt is painful and frankly, bizarre given that it’s not gamesmanship:
The criticism has been flowing, though I’d say from a general skimming of remarks, much of it is directed at adults for not better policing young players.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols warned that it’s a dangerous precedent to pin slow play issues on a young player and I would not disagree.
Particularly after reading this generous pace of play allowance in a match where the course is only available to two players:
A few things to consider about the Girls’ Junior finale that make this the perfect storm for slow-play critics:
It was a commercial-free broadcast
This was the only match on the course
There’s no cutting away during the boring stuff. Plus, the players were never warned about being out of position. Officials checked the time after each hole of the match.
The first 18 holes took 4 hours and 4 minutes. Officials allowed 4 hours and 12 minutes for the second 18, and they beat that mark.
Four hours and 12 minutes for two players on a wide open course after an almost identical time par in the morning?
That’s only 16 minutes faster than the average AJGA round…with a full field on the golf course and threesomes.
