LIV star “felt like I was on the course for 12 hours” as major champ gets Open slow play warning
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The pace of play was painfully slow at Royal Portrush as opening rounds pushed towards six hours.
It never takes long for the pace of play to rear its ugly head at The Open, and we were barely two-thirds through day one before the first player lashed out at the snail’s pace of the opening round.
LIV Golf’s Marc Leishman shot a two-over-par 73 before saying he “felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours.”
The frustrated Aussie, who missed out on the Claret Jug in a playoff at St Andrews in 2015, said he’s become used to a faster pace of play since joining LIV Golf, where he’s part of Ripper GC.
“We’ve been on the course for three hours through eight holes,” the 41-year-old said.
“That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under four-and-a-half every week.“
Leishman played alongside 2009 champion Stewart Cink and Italian Matteo Manassero and was critiical of the speed of the groups of them.
“You got to deal with all that sort of stuff, and I felt like I dealt with it decently well. Just got a little frustrated there,” he said.
“I thought I was playing really good and not getting anything out of it, but the conditions were tough. Hopefully, just get a good one going in the morning.”
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The six-time PGA Tour winner’s mood wasn’t helped by a three-putt bogey from 30 feet on the final hole.
Asked if he knew what was causing the delay, Leishman added: “No, just everyone takes their time.”
The huge field, one-tee start and testing conditions were never going to favour rapid play from the threeballs that filled the Dunluce Links from first light until dusk, but the pace was noticeably slow as we watched the action around the course.
While no-one received an official punishment for their pace, JJ Spaun, who won last month’s US Open at Oakmont, did receive a warning.
The American was handed a “bad time” on the final hole, with his group, which included including Jon Rahm and defending champion Xander Schauffele, on the clock.
The group had taken more than five-and-a-half hours to reach the final fairway with US broadcaster, following the group, saying, “I’ve been with them for five holes and I have not seen a group in front of them.”
Spaun was warned as he made his way down the 18th after exceeding the allotted 50-second time limit on his second shot on the par-4 17th.
Speaking on NBC, R&A rules official Charlie Maran clarified: “JJ would have had 50 seconds [instead of the usual 40] to play into the green because he was the first person to play.
“The next players would have had 40 seconds each, and unfortunately, JJ ran over the 50 seconds.”
Spaun’s punishment seemingly irked Rahm’s caddie, Adam Hayes, who reportedly had a tense discussion with the rules official after the warning was handed out.
The newly-crowned major champion will have to speed things up on Friday. Bad times are recorded at The Open and a further offence in the second round would lead to a one-shot penalty.
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Marc Leishman hit out at slow play in The Open as JJ Spaun received a warning.
