Two-time major winner reacts to ‘brutal’ LPGA Tour policy on slow play after Nelly Korda complaints

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Slow play has overshadowed the entertainment on the LPGA Tour and PGA Tour in recent times, but the former has now taken action.

Nelly Korda criticised slow play on the LPGA Tour last season, having finished her third round at The Annika in near darkness.

Charley Hull has been critical of slow play too, while it is an issue the PGA Tour have come under scrutiny for in recent times.

But the LPGA Tour has now decided enough is enough, with its members informed of a new policy on slow play at last week’s Founders Cup.

Players can be fined for going 1-5 seconds over the allotted time, handed a one-shot penalty for 6-15 seconds, and a two-shot penalty for 16 or more seconds.

Suzann Pettersen welcomes ‘brutal’ new LPGA Tour slow play policy

The new policy will not be implemented until the Ford Championship next month, but it has already been welcomed by two-time major champion and European Solheim Cup captain Suzann Pettersen.

“Now that I watch a lot of golf on TV, something needs to happen,” she told Golf Monthly. “The LPGA’s new policy might seem brutal, but if there are no real consequences, players won’t adjust.

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“I don’t know any player that loves being on the course for five and a half hours, it’s in everyone’s best interest to speed up play.”

PGA Tour needs to follow LPGA Tour in stricter slow play measures

A change has been coming for some time, and it is certain to be welcomed by many more players and indeed fans, none more so than world number one Korda.

The LPGA Tour handed out fines to 22 players for slow play in 2024, with nine players handed two-shot penalties.

READ MORE: The average round time at the least LPGA event compared to the PGA Tour and LIV Golf after Nelly Korda’s criticism

At the same time, however, just like the PGA Tour, introducing stricter measures will not please the slower players on the LPGA Tour.

But it is certainly for the good of the game, with slow play undoubtedly putting off many fans from watching tournaments, either from home or in person.

The PGA Tour now needs to take similar action, with plenty of players having voiced their concerns about slow play over the years, but particularly in more recent times.