LPGA can end slow play at The Annika with a smaller field

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Charley Hull has an admittedly ruthless idea to fix slow play on the LPGA. Under Hull’s rules, two-shot penalties shall be given out more frequently and repeat offenders would “lose your tour card instantly.” She knows something so extreme would never happen, but the threat of Q-School would kill slow play for good.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Hull, one of the fastest players in golf, “and I feel sorry for the fans how slow it is out there.”

For the past three years, the check-writers of The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican have asked the LPGA for a smaller field. It’s a matter of math, really. With 120 players in the field this time of year, it’s tough to get everyone around before the sun goes down. Even without weather delays.

And with the tour unable to rein in the issue of slow play, the ideal field for this week might be less than 100 players.

“These players are role models,” said tournament host Annika Sorenstam “You see the young girls out here, they’ve got to show how to play fast if they’re going to grow this game.”

Nelly Korda of the United States plays her shot from the seventh tee during the final round of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican 2024 at Pelican Golf Club on November 17, 2024 in Belleair, Florida. (Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)

When Kaitlyn Papp Budde came to the demanding 18th on Friday at Pelican Golf Club, the lights from the driving range had been moved over to help light up the green. While that didn’t help her too much in the fairway, she didn’t want to sleep on that second shot over water. She hit her approach, and then woke up early on Saturday to finish up her round along with two others. For the second consecutive day, play spilled over to the next morning despite no interruptions in play.

The ripple effect meant that with tee times pushed back 30 minutes, stars Nelly Korda and Charley Hull came to the 18th on Saturday after the sun came down. Korda called it “poor planning” that they had to finish in the dark. Golf Channel’s TV window was slated to end at 5 p.m. and extended to 5:51 p.m. The final group teed off at 12:13 p.m. on Saturday. That’s a snail’s pace of five hours and 38 minutes.

Sums it up. pic.twitter.com/kNJKxEWIgL

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) November 16, 2024

“I think the pace has gotten slower and slower, even practice rounds,” said Sorenstam. “It’s gotten to the point where a lot of players don’t even…