Referee's warning to duo not simply a case of bad timing

As they found out, the world does not wait even for Tiger Woods or Pádraig Harrington, writes COLIN BYRNE

IN THE days of multiple heroes on the European Tour such as Seve, Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer there was a tacit consent by the authorities to the laborious speed of play. Although there were guidelines as to how long it should take the weekend pairings to get back to the clubhouse, it seemed if the fastidious players got back to the house before dark in the final pairing on a Sunday (and usually to pick up the winner’s cheque) the authorities turned a blind eye to his tardiness.

I suppose the rules were a bit more relaxed for most things in that era. There is still a debate on the European and US Tours amongst players about the preferential treatment of slow star players. The tardy minnows of the tour will get fined for falling behind schedule, it is felt, the stars ignored.

Certain names strike a speed sensitive person when the draw for the first two rounds on a Tuesday is made. In the back of your mind you know you are going to be under pressure all day because of their deliberate nature.

Having caddied for Camilo Villegas for a couple of weeks recently I recognised how a deliberate pre-shot routine can lead to constant timing issues throughout each round. At the British Open we were timed consistently during the back nine on each of the first three rounds. A player is permitted 50 seconds to complete his shot when he is first in the group to hit. The other two players have 40 seconds each to hit. We ended up running between shots for three days trying to make up for lost time.

The slow players, being ultimate professionals, have learned to evolve with the slow-play directives as they change over the years. As soon as they see an official on the horizon they change their playing routine. When he disappears they go back to their normal routine.

The US Tour changed their whole schedule a couple of years ago amid a lot of scepticism from the players in order to keep their television ratings closer to the other big sports in the US. It’s almost stating the glaringly obvious to say that the money in golf comes from TV (especially when Tiger Woods is playing).

So when the much-respected European Tour official John Paramor had to warn Pádraig Harrington and Tiger Woods they were too slow on the Sunday of the fascinating battle in the otherwise dull city of Akron, Ohio, it was catastrophic for Pádraig but unfortunately very necessary for the tour to do so otherwise the TV slot would have over-run its allotted time. I suppose the whole tour is greater than the individuals. The world does not wait even for Tiger Woods or Pádraig Harrington.

They had been allotted four hours to play the last round in two-balls and despite it being a windy day, it’s not exactly breaking any world speed records. It is not an unreasonable time-frame in which to expect players to complete their rounds.

They are professionals, they can change their routines in order to fit in. Indeed Pádraig was renowned as one of the slowest players in the 1990s and being the diligent and detailed pro that he is he developed a new routine in order to fit in. This is what pros do. What happened in Akron seemed petty by the officials. But it was not really. As we all know from our own courses slow play is the ruination of many enjoyable rounds.

Although there is an amount of officiousness involved in implementing the slow-play rules which starts with a request from the official in question, backed up by being informed you are being timed.

Once you are timed you will be given a shot penalty for your second bad timing. It is a harsh penalty so a professional you need to deal with the slow-play issue seriously.

The main problem with slow play is it tends to be the innocent that can be as much the victims of the rule as the perpetrators. The slow players tend to be able to deal with the pressures of being timed better than those who are not used to being on the clock. So there tends to be a lot of bad feeling on tour about the slow coaches.

In golfing terms it is a tragedy to get penalised a shot for slow play. In Ohio a couple of weeks ago Pádraig was clearly put out by the warning from Paramor to the extent he lost the tournament due to that one hole.

Whether the mistake would have happened without the speed warning we will never know. But we do know that the next time Pádraig finds himself in a similar position he will have a plan in place to deal with the situation more advantageously. It is part of Harringtons professional DNA.

Tiger was pretty supportive in suggesting the warning was unnecessary and undermined the Irishman’s efforts to win. I wonder how he would have reacted if he did not win and felt that his opponents tardiness had impaired his efforts to win.

There is no doubt that being a professional golfer no matter how much you strive to cover all the angles in your quest to win an event something different happens in the heat of battle. Dealing with it is the art of being professional.

The world waits for no man. The prize funds at professional events are bolstered by television coverage and ratings. It is not too much to ask to keep within the time-frame of four hours for two talented golfers to complete their rounds in about 70 shots.

Most of us have a lot more hits without caddies running around after us and would be appalled at taking more than four hours for 18 holes.

It is indeed time to move on.