Bryson DeChambeau, who is often at the center of conversations surrounding slow play on the PGA Tour, was hounded with criticism after Round 2 at The Northern Trust.
The 25-year-old golfer took his time Friday as he played Liberty National Golf Course in the first FedEx Cup Playoff event. A tournament of this magnitude puts extra pressure on golfers and being deliberate before shots, especially on the green, can be necessary.
However, many felt that DeChambeau took an unreasonable amount of time reading a particular putt. He even got the attention of the broadcasters, who said the putt was "a pretty straightforward shot," but it still took DeChambeau over three minutes to execute.
Justin Thomas, who was one of DeChambeau's partners that round and a notoriously quick player, was visibly frustrated.
We can... pic.twitter.com/TOnRS4BXds
— Fantasy Golf Pod (@fantasygolfpod) August 10, 2019
A number of other golfers chimed in.
European Tour pro Eddie Pepperell said, "Just look at Tommy (Fleetwood) and Justin, both looking completely bored. Slow players do this to their playing partners making the game less enjoyable. Problem is, the unaffected single-minded twit in this instance, doesn’t care much for others."
Golf coach Andrew MacRae added, "And this is why I have stopped watching the PGA Tour and lost interest. Such a shame that this goes unpunished and ruins the game."
While some were slightly more encouraging.
"Slow play in golf isn’t anything new — but nowadays with social media, TV etc it’s just being exposed to a new level," said Luke Donald, a five-time Tour winner. "This seems like the perfect time to do something about it! C’mon people it’s 2019, let’s figure this out!!"
Slow play in golf isn’t anything new - but nowadays with social media, TV etc it’s just being exposed to a new level. This seems like the perfect time to do something about it! C’mon people it’s 2019, let’s figure this out!! @PGATOUR @EuropeanTour @RandA @USGA
— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) August 10, 2019
DeChambeau advanced into the weekend at The Northern Trust and finished his third round carding even-par 71. It was his highest round of the week but he escaped without enduring any more flak.
He addressed the criticism after his round, saying he had been “attacked” and the remarks “put me in a bad light."
"When people start talking to me about slow play and how I'm killing the game, I'm doing this and that to that game ... that is complete and utter you-know-what. That's not fair,'' DeChambeau said after his round, via ESPN.
He added: "People say things behind people's back all the time and if they want to talk about it to my face, I'll gladly explain the whole situation. Because the way the PGA Tour policy is now for pace of play is not good the way they define it. They define it as the amount of time it takes to hit a shot.
"But the problem is there are other people in the group, and it takes time for them to do stuff. And when you look at the whole situation, and you look at the time it takes for me to get from one shot to the next shot, and you add up those times for me to play the hole, I'm right on par.''