From professional game to Drive, Chip and Putt, Augusta chairman Fred Ridely concerned about pace of play

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Pace of play could come under heightened scrutiny this week at the Masters.

It certainly has the attention of chairman Fred Ridley.
With the PGA Tour set to roll out new initiatives next week aimed at increased the speed of play at its tournaments, Ridley said that he was in favor of continuing the dialogue surrounding the hot topic.

“Playing without undue delay, as the rules and the game’s traditions dictate, is an essential skill of golf at all levels,” Ridley said in his prepared remarks Wednesday. “Recognizing the challenges professionals face each week, I also believe pace of play is an important element of the examination of the world’s best players.

“Golf is a special game because it requires us to be considerate while also being competitive. Respecting other people’s time, including, importantly, the fans who support the game, is a fundamental courtesy. Therefore, I want to encourage continued dialogue on this topic, especially at the professional levels which serve as the most visible representation of our sport.”

Beginning next week at the RBC Heritage, the Tour will allow rangefinders during competition on an experimental basis. It has also pledged to crack down on the slowest players by punishing repeat offenders and publishing average stroke times.

The Tour hasn’t handed out a slow-play penalty in a stroke-play event since 1995. Only one Masters participant in recent memory has received a one-shot penalty — 14-year-old Guan Tianlang, at the 2013 Masters.

This year’s Masters features 95 players, with a twosome, Davis Riley and Patton Kizzire, leading the way at 7:40 a.m. ET. Ridley hoped that that two-ball could “put a little more pressure” on the following groups to keep pace.

“I’m not going to tell you that I’m going to be happy with the results, but I think I am encouraged that the PGA Tour is doing some things, experimenting with some timing procedures that might be a little bit more aggressive than we’ve seen in the past,” Ridley said.

Ridley was also asked about the optics of some competitors in the recent Drive, Chip & Putt using AimPoint on the greens and taking roughly two minutes to make a stroke.

Because of that, Ridley said to anticipate pace-of-play changes next spring for the junior event.

“I, too, noticed exactly what you noticed,” he said. “It’s interesting, but every phase of the competition has the same length chip and the same length putt, so it’s really not necessary to pace that off. They know how many yards that it is. But nevertheless, that’s what they were doing.

“I think it’s safe to assume that next year at the Drive, Chip & Putt you will see some sort of time limitations placed on the competition.”