Golf influencer and model Paige Spiranac has slammed slow players in the game with the style of play becoming a contentious issue for many professionals on the PGA Tour
Paige Spiranac has hit out at slow play(Image: Gerardo Mora, Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Paige Spiranac has claimed that one of her biggest pet peeves in golf is slow play.
The former professional golf pro made the claim on the Vanity Index Podcast. The issue of languid pace in the game has been something of a talking point in recent months.
Her comment, during a rapid-fire question and answer session, on the podcast was not the first time the model, 32, has hit out on the issue either. Spiranac took to X at the turn of the year saying: “If you can’t play under 4 hours yourself then you have no room to complain.”
While she also suggested that the PGA Tour needs to step in. “No one is blind to the fact pro golf is currently struggling to capture audiences,” she said on social media.
“They need to speed up the pace of play, get fresh talent incorporated into the broadcasts, introduce the audience to the rookies, less commercials, and most importantly have the best players in the world on one tour.”
The perhaps overly relaxed nature of some players made its way into headlines in May. Sky Sports golf analyst Wayne Riley highlighted Matthias Schmid’s slow play during the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Paige Spiranac has called on the PGA Tour to take action(Image: 2024 Fanatics)
The German opted to take his time when standing over his third shot on the 17th. The 27-year-old Schmid then spent over two minutes deciding his plan of attack, something that on-course announcer Riley was less than impressed with.
“He likes a back off this guy,” said Riley on the Sky Sports broadcast. “He’s done it a couple of times I’ve noticed.” As Schmid opted to once more step away, Riley could not help but highlight it, adding: “Look, he’s backing off again. I feel like we’ve been standing over this shot for 20 minutes.”
The Tour star eventually took aim at the green, but saw his ball land 60 feet shy of the flag on the green. The slow play then followed with putter in hand, which irked Riley, who said: “This guy has thrown the anchor out, he’s a really slow player.”
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The two-time major champion Collin Morikawa has also voiced his concerns that penalties currently in place to combat slow play are unfit for purpose.
“I think you just have to start stroking guys and giving guys actual penalties, whether it be strokes or FedExCup [points],” Morikawa said. “What I’ve learned is that monetary fines are useless. We make so much money and some guys frankly could not care less.”
Players such as Patrick Cantlay and Brian Harman have frequently been slated for their slow approach to the game. American star Harman claimed the difficulty of courses is now playing a part.
Brian Harman has been accused of slow play over the years(Image: Warren Little/Getty Images)
“The TOUR is trying to figure out how we’re going to balance it,” he said. “I don’t think the TOUR really wants to shrink fields, but we can’t finish in daylight. The courses get harder every year. Guys take longer because the courses are harder, and we can’t finish.”
Speaking in March, PGA Tour’s commissioner Jay Monahan revealed the imminent arrival of new sanctions which could include the naming and shaming of those who play too slow.
The PGA Tour is also said to have been impressed by the results of its recent test, in which players used rangefinders in events to speed up their game.
“We’ve committed to addressing the speed of play,” said the commissioner. “To that end, I’m excited to formally announce these recommendations from our player-led speed-of-play working group. We will begin publishing speed-of-play related statistics later this season.”
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