Nelly Korda praises pace-of-play at LPGA Founders after new penalty system was announced
The LPGA Tour saw improved pace of play at the Founders Cup, with rounds finishing well under the 4:45 target.
The tour’s new pace-of-play policy, which includes stroke penalties for slow play, will go into effect in late March.
Players generally responded positively to the new policy, aiming for increased awareness of their pace on the course.
The time difference between the first and last groups to finish rounds was significantly reduced compared to previous events.
When it comes to speed, the LPGA got off to a strong start at the LPGA Founders Cup. While the tour’s new pace-of-play policy doesn’t go into effect until late March, players made good time at Bradenton Country Club.
“There was not one round that we sniffed 4:45,” said the uber-quick Nelly Korda. “It was very nice.”
Indeed, the median time for threesomes in Rounds 1 and 2 in sunny Florida was 4 hours, 31 minutes on Thursday and 4 hours, 23 minutes on Friday.
For Sunday’s final round of twosomes, the tour played in a median time of 3 hours and 48 minutes.
“I just think everybody knows that we need to play faster,” said Stacy Lewis, who was on the small committee that helped shape the changes.
Pace of play 2/3 – # of Tees 1st In Last In Median Time
1st Round 3; #1 & #10 Tees 4:13 4:38 4:31
2nd Round 3; #1 & #10 Tees 4:00 4:30 4:23
3rd Round 2; #1 Tee 3:25 3:43 3:48
4th Round 2; #1 Tee 3:29 3:50 3:42
It helped, of course, that the weather was nice and the Donald Ross design is an easy walk from green to tee. It’s also one of the tour’s smaller full-field events, with 120 players, due to daylight.
Last November, slow play became a hot topic once again after the tour missed its TV window at The Annika by 51 minutes on Saturday with two of the fastest players in the game – Charley Hull and Nelly Korda – in the last group.
Hull blasted the pace of 5 hours and 28 minutes, saying players should lose their cards for repeat offenses. While that didn’t exactly happen, the incident did spur the tour into action. A committee was formed during the offseason and changes were put in place for 2025.
Charley Hull of England walks the 13th hole during the final round of the Founders Cup presented by U.S. Virgin Islands 2025 at Bradenton Country Club on February 09, 2025 in Bradenton, Florida.
Essentially, players who are taking too much time when on the clock will soon receive strokes instead of fines, with the tour introducing a 1-shot penalty for those who are 6 to 15 seconds over the time allotted and two strokes for those who are 16 seconds or more over.
“I can speak about myself because I am not the fastest player out there,” said Gaby Lopez, who thought the new policy was fair.
“I’m trying my best, and I do make an effort. I really work on timing myself out there on the golf course. The thing is we have to take more serious the warnings they are giving us so that avoids us getting on the clock.”
Lewis said the feedback she received from players last week was positive. The goal, she continued, is for players to be more aware of where they are on the golf course. What they found in the research was that the time it takes for the first few groups to play versus the last groups was astronomically different at times.
In Bradenton, there was a 25-minute difference between the first-in and last-in times during the first round. That reduced to a 21-minute gap in the final round.
There were times, last year, it was a 45-minute difference.
Lewis would like to see players walk faster. Angela Stanford, who retired from the tour last year, said she believes the problem comes after people get to their ball.
“I think people are losing their time in their process that leads up to their routine,” said Stanford. “The process of selecting a club can take anywhere from two to six minutes for some of these girls. Their routine might take 20 or 30 seconds.
“It’s just my opinion that it’s always one of two clubs.”
