Tour News
Guan revisited: Hideki Matsuyama hit with slow play penalty
For the second time at the the majors in 2013, a player was assessed a penalty for slow play. The offending party: Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who, after multiple warnings, was penalized on the 17th hole of his third round at The Open Championship.
Matsuyama and playing partner Johnson Wagner first faced the timekeeper’s disapproving glare on the 15th hole. At that point, the players were 15 minutes behind. The group ahead of them (the not exactly young and sprite) Tom Lehman and Mark O’Meara, were significantly outpacing the two at the time, according to the R&A.
After being notified that they were on the clock on the 15th green, Matsuyama had another “bad time” (2 minutes, 12 seconds behind, reportedly) while playing his approach to the 17th hole and was assessed a one-stroke penalty.
The penalty gave the young native of Japan a bogey 6 on the 17th hole, and he eventually finished the day six shots behind leader Lee Westwood.
Of course, there have been suggestions that Matsuyama, a native of Japan, didn’t understand the situation. However, David Rickman, the R&A’s rules official, didn’t give much credence to such sentiments.
“I can confirm that the player was fully aware of the circumstances that he was in,” Rickman said.
One player who did understand the situation and didn’t agree with the penalty was playing partner Johnson Wagner, who took particular issue with the fact that Matsuyama was assessed the penalty on a hole (the 17th) where his drive had struck a spectator, which slowed the group’s progress.
“I don’t like slow play either but given his position in the tournament, and given the shot he faced on 17, I don’t think he took too long,” Wagner said. “I think it’s tragic and I think the R&A should use better judgment in the penalising of it.”
Tragic or not, the R&A in general, and David Rickman in particular, have spoken, and a second player has been docked a stroke at one of golf’s most significant tournaments this year.
Will slow play play a role in the final Round of The Open Championship? Surely, times will tell.
- LIKE0
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 PGA Championship
GolfWRX is on site this week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, for the PGA Championship.
While we see fewer equipment changes and new gear seeding at major championships, we get a look at custom gear and looks into the bags of players we rarely see, which is just as exciting. In the case of the PGA Championship, this means a look at the gear some of the PGA Professionals who qualified for the tournament will be gaming, and LIV players, such as Jon Rahm and Patrick Reed.
Check out links to all our albums from Valhalla below and check back throughout the week as we continue to update.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Michael Block – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Patrick Reed – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cam Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Josh Speight – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Takumi Kanaya – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kyle Mendoza – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Adrian Meronk – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jordan Smith – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jeremy Wells – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jared Jones – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Somers – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Larkin Gross – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tracy Phillips – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jon Rahm – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Keita Nakajima – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Kazuma Kobori – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- David Puig – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Ryan Van Velzen – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brad Marek – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Chris Gotterup – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rich Beem WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Phil Mickelson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Matt Dobyns – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Lucas Herbert – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Jason Dufner – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- John Daly – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Taylor Gooch – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dean Burmester – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson – WITB – 2024 PGA Championship
Pullout Albums
- Ping putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Bettinardi covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Cameron putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- Max Homa – Titleist 2 wood – 2024 PGA Championship
- Scotty Cameron experimental putter shaft by UST – 2024 PGA Championship
- Joaquin Niemann – new Ping putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Brooks Koepka’s new Cameron putter – 2024 PGA Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s Cobra bag and Aerojet driver – 2024 PGA Championship
- Super Stroke grip – 2024 PGA Championship
- Tiger Woods – 2024 PGA Championship
- Michael Block’s new TaylorMade “Proto” 7-iron, from address – 2024 PGA Championship
- Odyssey putter covers – 2024 PGA Championship
- LIKE8
- LEGIT1
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
News
Photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
GolfWRX is live this week at the Wells Fargo Championship as a field of the world’s best golfers descend upon Charlotte, North Carolina, hoping to tame the beast that is Quail Hollow Club in this Signature Event — only Scottie Scheffler, who is home awaiting the birth of his first child, is absent.
From the grounds at Quail Hollow, we have our usual assortment of general galleries and WITBs — including a look at left-hander Akshay Bhatia’s setup. Among the pullout albums, we have a look inside Cobra’s impressive new tour truck for you to check out. Also featured is a special look at Quail Hollow king, Rory McIlroy.
Be sure to check back throughout the week as we add more galleries.
General Albums
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Monday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Wells Fargo Championship – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Akshay Bhatia – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matthieu Pavon – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Keegan Bradley – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Webb Simpson – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Emiliano Grillo – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Taylor Pendrith – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Kevin Tway – WITB – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
Pullout Albums
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rory McIlroy – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- New Cobra equipment truck – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Eric Cole’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Custom Cameron putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Matt Kuchar’s custom Bettinardi – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Justin Thomas – driver change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler – putter change – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Rickie Fowler’s new custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Tommy Fleetwood testing a TaylorMade Spider Tour X (with custom neck) – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
- Cobra Darkspeed Volition driver – 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
See what GolfWRXers are saying about our Wells Fargo Championship photos in the forums.
- LIKE14
- LEGIT2
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
GolfWRX is on site this week in McKinney, Texas, at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson (FKA the AT&T Byron Nelson).
Last year at TPC Craig Ranch, Jason Day ended a five-year winless streak. J-Day is in the field again, as are Jordan Spieth, Tom Kim, and Will Zalatoris.
We have our usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums for your perusal. As always, we’ll continue to add links to additional albums as they make their way to us from the Lone Star State.
Check out links to all our photos below.
General Albums
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Monday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #1
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #2
- 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Pierceson Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kris Kim – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- David Nyfjall – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Adrien Dumont de Chassart – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Jarred Jetter – North Texas PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Richy Werenski – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Wesley Bryan – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Parker Coody – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Peter Kuest – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Blaine Hale, Jr. – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Kelly Kraft – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Rico Hoey – WITB – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Pullout Albums
- Adam Scott’s 2 new custom L.A.B. Golf putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Scotty Cameron putters – 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
- Ben Griffin playing Maxfli golf ball
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
- LIKE12
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK1
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
-
19th Hole1 week ago
Report: LIV star turns down PGA Championship invite due to ‘personal commitments’
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago
Gary Player claims this is what ‘completely ruined’ Tiger Woods’ career
-
Equipment1 week ago
Details on Justin Thomas’ driver switch at the Wells Fargo Championship
-
Whats in the Bag2 days ago
Tiger Woods WITB 2024 (May)
-
Whats in the Bag3 weeks ago
Team McIlowry (Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry) winning WITBs: 2024 Zurich Classic
-
Whats in the Bag1 week ago
Keegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
-
19th Hole24 hours ago
Brandel Chamblee says this is the primary reason why Rory McIlroy hasn’t won a major in 10 years
Augustine
Jul 25, 2013 at 9:27 am
I think the PGA tour should have “timeboards” at every tee just to show whether a group is behind… that would be a fair way to time everyone, not just those “judged” to be slow then placed on the clock…
But, this makes too much sense, so the R&A will not do it…
yo!
Jul 23, 2013 at 2:23 pm
At the professional level, either put everyone on the clock and enforce it equally rather than haphazardly. Or give the players the option of calling the clock on another player. I’ve been to a couple of tournaments and have timed how long the pros take to make a shot. It is slow … but at least no one gets called for it so no one complains that it is unfair.
Norm
Jul 22, 2013 at 1:55 pm
That one shot may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the fact is that it was an entire round that was slow. How do you possibly fall 15 minutes behind the group in front of you? That’s abysmal. A twosome of professional golfers shooting around par for 18 holes should play in under 4 hours. 15 minutes is a significant amount of time when put in context. Also, the articale does not mention that there was a Japanese speaking rules official with the group, so “he didn’t understand” was not the case.
Chris
Jul 22, 2013 at 1:14 am
correction Johnson not Jonathan (can’t even blame my spell check!).
Chris
Jul 22, 2013 at 1:13 am
This penalty was a mistake. Jonathan got it right, the R&A should known better. But of course if you look at their handling of the rule book over the years you can tell they are out of touch.
tonyk
Jul 22, 2013 at 12:57 am
Maybe it’s just a coincidence that only young Asian players actually got penalties by slow play.
purkjason
Jul 24, 2013 at 10:40 am
I was thinking the exact same thing tonyk. I think Ben Crane should get a penalty stroke for almost every hole he has ever played on tour and the pre shot routine of Keegan Bradley takes 2 mins. in itself, not to mention it’s annoying with all the club spinning. I think the R&A are penalizing the Asian Players due to them improving at a rapid pace. Just look at the LPGA and it’s dominated by the Asian Women and with the help of Greg Norman the young Asian Players will only become better quickly. And the Asians have more pride and dedication than the Americans so they deserve all that comes from hard work. And yes, I’m an American making these comments.