Slow play has become a major talking point on the PGA Tour since the final round of The Masters, with Patrick Cantlay coming in for criticism; he and Xander Schauffele have both hit back; watch the Zurich Classic of New Orleans live on Sky Spprts Golf from Thursday
Wednesday 19 April 2023 20:59, UK
Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay both took aim at critics of slow play on the PGA Tour as the duo prepare to defend their Zurich Classic of New Orleans title.
Pace of play has become a hot-button issue on the Tour following the final round of The Masters just under two weeks ago, with Cantlay, in particular, coming in for criticism for holding up leaders Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka as they made their way around Augusta National.
Matt Fitzpatrick, who played in a final-round group with Cantlay during his RBC Heritage triumph last Sunday, called for more action to be taken against slow play ahead of this week's team strokeplay event too. However, Schauffele insisted the nature of elite-level golf and course set-ups need to be taken into account.
"All the things that have happened as of late have all been within the guidelines of the Tour and what's supposed to happen," Schauffele said. "No one's been penalised for slow play or anything of that nature, so we're all operating within the framework of what the Tour gives us.
"If enough people complain or if enough Tour pros complain, that's something the Tour needs to address to either make it faster or change the time par. Without any context, it gets tricky because when you set up golf courses with Stimp 13 or 14 greens, tees in interesting positions, and pins in tough spots, it's just going to take longer.
"We're not playing like the local muni that sort of the average Joe compares our time par to. We're playing for a couple million - you know, $3.6 million.
"If you're going to spend an extra minute to make sure you put yourself in the right spot, we're going to do it. That's just the nature of our game and our sport."
We're not playing like the local muni that sort of the average Joe compares our time par to. We're playing for a couple million - you know, $3.6 million.
Cantlay, for his part, concedes he does take his time, but remains adamant he is not doing anything wrong.
A member of the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council, the 31-year-old questioned whether there were any steps which could be taken to speed up the pace of play as well.
"I'm definitely slower than average, have been my whole career," Cantlay said. "I definitely take my time.
"Like I said, being on the PAC has been interesting because the times that it's taken to play rounds has been pretty much the same for the last 10 or even longer years. So, trying to speed it up, I'd be curious to know how they'd want to do that.
"I played the last two tournaments, and my group hasn't been warned at all. So, we've been in position the entire time.
"I don't know how you would want even the groups that I've been in to play faster when our groups are in position and can't go faster because the group in front of us is right in front of us."
There will nonetheless be plenty of eyes on Cantlay and Schauffele when they begin their Zurich Classic defence against South Korean pair Si Woo Kim and Tom Kim at TPC Louisiana on Thursday, live on Sky Sports.
Despite the public criticism of him though, Cantlay says has not been spoken to privately by anyone unhappy with him playing slowly.
"I haven't had anybody come up to me or talk to me," Cantlay said. "But I'd be perfectly happy to talk to them about it."
Watch the Zurich Classic of New Orleans throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 4pm via the red button on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 8pm.
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