What PGA Tour rules official was saying about the pace of play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am which has never happened before

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Golf Channel reporter Todd Lewis has revealed what he was told about the pace of play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Before this week’s event on the Monterey Peninsula, slow play had dominated the headlines after the issue marred the Farmers Insurance Open and The American Express.

During The Amex, Sepp Straka’s final group took three-and-a-half hours to complete 11 holes and was stranded on one hole for over 30 minutes.

Fast forward two weeks to the Farmers Insurance, and slow play was once again the main topic of conversation. After the final round broadcast reached six hours, CBS on-course reporter Dottie Pepper hit out at the situation at Torrey Pines.

“I think we’re starting to need a new word to talk about this pace of play issue, and it’s respect, for your fellow competitors, for fans, for broadcast, for all of it, it’s just got to get better,” she said.

Pace of play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Thankfully, the pace of play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was encouragingly fast, according to Lewis.

“Actually, Thursday through to Sunday, play for all four rounds was ahead of the pace that was prescribed by the PGA Tour with the broadcast partners,” Lewis told the Golf Channel Podcast.

“In other words, the tournament play ended before the broadcast was over. They finished 15 to 20 minutes early.

“As a matter of fact, Thursday and Friday, I was told by a rules official on the PGA Tour that the pace of play was the fastest it has ever been in the tournament for the first two rounds. It is a talking point in the locker room; no player wants to be known as the slow player, especially if on the horizon there is a possibility that you are going to be revealed to the public as a slow player, so I think that the players are addressing this internally and trying to make a better effort, but they are being pushed a bit by the PGA Tour and the fans.”

• READ MORE: What Rory McIlroy told his caddy on the final hole just before he won the AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach

What the PGA Tour is doing to combat slow play

The PGA Tour has also announced a series of solutions to help speed up players on the course. Firstly, as is seen at the PGA Championship, measuring devices could be permitted. Using range finders, in theory, would make life easier for caddies and reduce the time spent calculating yardage.

Secondly, the Tour is set to implement a new video review centre, which will allow officials to deal with any subjective rulings quickly. Usually, if a player runs into an issue, play is halted whilst an official makes their way to the incident.

Finally, discussions have taken place about naming and shaming the slowest players and releasing fines and penalties to show that the Tour is actively addressing the issue. Since 1995, only three players have been publicly penalised for slow play.