Sky Sports commentator Ewen Murray wants to see more punishment for slow play

Ewen Murray was impressed with the standard of play among the senior stars at Sunningdale, but the Sky Sports commentator was again left frustrated by the pace of play.

With the season now in full swing, the world rankings, the Race to Dubai and the FedExCup are beginning to take shape.

Last week, the Seniors took centre stage and, as always, Sunningdale provided an excellent venue. Despite the inclement weather, we enjoyed a super finish to the Senior Open Championship.

Marco Dawson's journey to the top has been a difficult one. A trip full of downs with the odd up, but last Sunday he was a worthy winner as he closed the championship out in style with a final round of 64 which included two eagles. The emotion he showed at the 18th was not just down to his victory.

At a time when the number of golfers are dwindling, it's high time to enforce stronger penalties on those who quite simply take too long

He has suffered setbacks having had his PGA Tour card only to lose it. He has drifted back to the Web.com Tour and surfaced again in the big league only to return to the secondary Tour.

His win was one of the good stories of the year - a triumph over many disappointments. His 64 was needed as the evergreen Bernhard Langer matched his final round score, with Colin Montgomerie slipping over the last nine holes and thus missing out on a fourth Senior major.

Some of the shot-making was a joy to behold and the champion never missed a shot down the stretch.

Unacceptable pace

But while congratulating them on a splendid performance, the subject of slow play reared its ugly head again. These three players took five hours and five minutes to complete their final round. That, around Sunningdale, I don't believe is acceptable.

I'm not making excuses for Colin Montgomerie, but I imagine it must have been tough for him to deal with. He is, and has always been a player who plays with a minimum of fuss. Since his arrival on Tour, no player has played quicker than Monty.

Nobody has played slower than Bernhard during his career, and I'm being kind to Marco when I say he was "deliberate". Why there are not more severe penalties for slow play, I don't know.

At a time when the number of golfers are dwindling, it's high time to enforce stronger penalties on those who quite simply take too long. Some caddies have a "board meeting" with their bosses before a decision is made. It's not the caddies’ fault, it's what the player wants, but my opinion is that this is not the way forward and the powers that be need to address this problem sooner rather than later.

The game has to become more attractive and the speeding up of play I'm sure would help.

Wonderful Willett

On the regular European Tour, Danny Willett continued to reach new heights with his win in Switzerland. With Rory McIlroy out for the foreseeable future, Danny could find himself at the top of the Race To Dubai standings come the end of the WGC-Bridgestone, if not then, by the end of the PGA.

I believe Willett's win at Sun City has been the catalyst for the magnificent season he is having. His final two rounds of 66 and 65 at the Gary Player Country Club last December were spectacular and his confidence and belief stem from that superb performance.

In Tyrrell Hatton, England has another player who can make huge strides in the months ahead. This year has seen Tyrrell mature into a fine golfer and should he continue to knock at the door, one will open soon. His birdie count last week at Crans-sur-Sierre was impressive to say the least, and his time is not far away.

Stateside, nobody would have been disappointed to see Jason Day winning in Canada. After his vertigo struggles at Chambers Bay and his near miss in the Open, Day enjoyed a heartwarming victory as he held off Bubba Watson at Glen Abbey.

The Australian, a wonderful natural talent, has come close in several majors only to fail to cross the line. It’s not always your fault when someone puts in a great performance, you get a bad break here and there and the line between winning and losing is minuscule.

He's still young and given a clean bill of health over the next few years, he will win more than one. Jason is surely a decent bet to take "Glory's Last Shot", the final major of 2015.

Day is now fourth in the world rankings. Rory is still at the top of that list, but a Jordan Spieth win at Firestone would change that and not many would bet against it.

Spieth the man to beat

The next two weeks will be fascinating in Ohio and Wisconsin as the FedExCup play-offs are nearly upon us. Spieth is out in front in that list as well and no doubt will be the leader going into the four events that make up the Series.

Tiger Woods returns to the PGA Tour this week at the Quicken Loans event and his supporters will hope he fares better than in past weeks. Watching him at St Andrews was tough, in fact watching him all this season has not been a joy, but I still believe he will turn it around. One good 18 holes can change much.

I wish he would return to a more natural way of playing, but he is in charge of his own destiny and it's he who makes the decisions.

The European Tour welcomes the inaugural Saltire Paul Lawrie Match Play by Paul's home town of Aberdeen. It's a special and, I suspect, an extremely proud week for the 1999 Open Champion and his wife Marion.

They do enormous amounts for charity in their neck of the woods as well as giving extensive help to young golfers. Together they work tirelessly to help others and I hope their week is a huge success.

In Murcar golf club, they have a grand venue. Sometimes some of Scotland's gems are in the shadow of the Open courses but when this week is done, Murcar will be on many golfers must-play lists. It is a fabulous links test.

Match play is of course golf in its rawest form and come Sunday the champion will deserve to have his name up in Northern Lights.

Apologies for the moan about slow play, but it's something I'd like to see being a thing of the past. For the next fortnight, I'll be across the Pond. It should be a memorable and perhaps season-defining two weeks. In the meantime, enjoy your golf wherever you play and I look forward to your company for the Bridgestone.