In a week where plenty of eyes were on the LPGA, it was fitting that it was the world’s best player who triumphed at The ANNIKA, with Nelly Korda winning for the seventh time this season.
Nelly Korda won by three in Florida, with overnight leader Charley Hull one of those in a tie for second. Of course, much of the talk leading up to the event focused on Caitlin Clark taking part in the Pro-Am. The LPGA were praised for pairing Clark with Korda.
Meanwhile, it would have been a further boost to have Hull in contention. Hull has been labelled the surprise star of the LPGA this year, and she went into the week off the back of a victory on the LET in Saudi Arabia.
But it was not entirely positive news for the tournament organisers across the week. Korda was critical after finishing her third round in darkness. And it seems that her playing partner is in agreement with the 26-year-old.
Charley Hull suggests how the LPGA can address slow play
Hull suggested that she would do something drastic about the pace of play, insisting that it can ruin the spectacle for the fans.
“It was crazy. I’m quite ruthless, but I said, listen, if you get three bad timings, every time it’s a tee shot penalty, if you have three of them you lose your Tour card instantly. I’m sure that would hurry a lot of people up and they won’t want to lose their Tour card,” she said.
“That would kill the slow play, but they would never do that.”
“It’s ridiculous and I feel sorry for the fans how slow it is out there,” she added, when asked how big an issue it is. “We were out there for five hours and 40 minutes yesterday. We play in a fourball at home on a hard golf course and we’re round in three and a half, four hours. It is pretty crazy.”
How the PGA Tour are looking to tackle slow play
Obviously, slow play is not only an issue for women’s golf. The PGA Tour is considering a number of proposals for 2026 that would potentially help address the pace of play issues that they have.
The number of players automatically keeping their tour cards is set to drop to 100 from 125, while field sizes in almost every tournament are set to be reduced. Unsurprisingly, the proposals have divided opinion, with Padraig Harrington labelling the potential changes ‘terrible’.
It would be a shock if the LPGA implemented Hull’s ideas. But when one of their most recognised players speaks about the issue in such a way, it would certainly be wise to look into what can be done.
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