Brent Geiberger is the first player to have been fined $20,000 for slow play. He was put on the clock ten times in one season. “I understand they’re trying to do something about slow play and trying to get a system that works,” Geiberger said. “But it’s not a system that shows you’re a slow player.”
Last year, the PGA Tour introduced a highly penal system to combat slow play. Some players feared that they would be guilty by association if they were consistently paired with slow players. According to PGA Tour rules, all players in a group are put on the clock if the group is out of position.
Brent expressed concern that, because he was often in the first few groups on Thursday and Friday, that he was being treated unfairly, saying If you’re in the first three groups, those are the one trying to keep the pace up. If I’m in the middle of the field, the winner’s bracket, and you’re a minute or two over, they let it slide a little.”
To be clear, one thing is certain: a minute or two doesn’t matter. To be put on the clock, you have to be substantially out of position.
Said senior rules official Mark Russell “That’s the way it has to be. It would be like the lead car driving 20 mph. You think there’s going to be a traffic jam? But there’s a ton of others in the same situation. Those guys have got set the pace.”
Geiberger will be able to put his theory to test. His victory in Greensboro will put him in the middle of the tee times with other PGA Tour winners for the next two years.