PGA Tour to Publish List of Fastest and Slowest Players to Combat Pace Issues
The PGA Tour is implementing new measures to address slow play concerns by making player pace statistics public and introducing penalties. This initiative comes as part of the Tour's Fan Forward program to improve the viewing experience.
Key changes include:
- Publishing player stroke times, including fastest and slowest players
- Testing new speed-of-play policies with stroke penalties on Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour Americas starting April
- Experimenting with rangefinder use in tournaments between Masters and PGA Championship
Players have shown support for these transparency measures. Justin Thomas acknowledged being "on the slow side" and welcomes the data publication. Collin Morikawa advocates for stricter penalties, suggesting FedExCup points deductions would be more effective than monetary fines.
Commissioner Jay Monahan emphasized this is just the beginning of addressing pace-of-play issues. While the Tour has long had access to detailed ShotLink timing data, this marks the first time such information will be made public with player support.
The effectiveness of these changes remains to be seen, as implementation details and timeline are still being developed. However, this represents a significant shift in Tour policy and demonstrates a commitment to improving pace of play for both players and fans.