Golf star Camilo Villegas has sent out a demand to the PGA Tour (Image: GETTY)
Golf star Camilo Villegas says the should “have the b****” to enforce slow play at tournaments. The Colombian is one of 16 players on the player advisory council and has demanded changes at the elite level of the sport.
Villegas is part of the 156-man field competing at the Sony Open in Hawaii this weekend.
And he made his thoughts known after seven players failed to complete their first round due to bad light, despite the fact weather conditions had been fine throughout the day.
In November, the PGA Tour approved a host of proposals in an attempt to deliver a stronger product. Those proposals included creating smaller fields at tournaments to navigate the limited daylight hours.
But Villegas thinks slow players could be causing issues for the game and wants PGA Tour chiefs to do something about it.
“The way I see it, those guys are breaking the rules,” explained the 43-year-old. “There needs to be consequences.
Read more…
Seven golf stars failed to complete their first round at the Sony Open (Image: GETTY)
“I think their names should be posted in the locker room in font 30, and Michael Kim brought this up a little while back – their caddie should wear a fluorescent orange bib. Make them feel bad.
“That’s not the way this game should be played. The Tour’s never going to do that. I wish they did. We had the balls to do the changes last year so maybe we do have the balls to enforce pace of play a little better.”
When the PGA Tour changes were proposed, the memo actually called for players to be handed smaller fines if they were guilty of slow play.
And at the time, Ryder Cup icon : “At the end of the day, the people on the inside are voting to keep the thing tighter and more closed.
Don’t miss… [QUOTES] [DETAILS]
“The Tour was running just fine. I know there’s a little bit of pressure to finish on time when fields go to 156 at certain times of the season or 144, but players will deal with it.
“They will handle that. They prepare for that. They know at the start of the year [they] might miss out on a few tournament [rounds] because of light.
“Slow play is like driving in rush hour traffic. It’s just too many people on the golf course, and the tee times are too tight. So yes, this is a way of solving one of the big issues – but you want to give everybody the opportunity.”