The issue of pace of play has resurfaced again. Former Open runner-up Colin Montgomerie has demanded two rule changes at the major championships.

Montgomerie was left frustrated with the slow play on Thursday. He pointed out the things that led to that.

“Christ almighty, last night [it] was 5 hours 40,” Colin Montgomerie said. “TV hates it. Spectators hate it. Too long is the chat between the caddy and the player. My God, it goes on forever. The book comes out. How many times do they get the bloody book out of the thing?”

The endless conversation between a player and their caddie and the frequent usage of the yardage books before every shot contribute to the slow play.

Before putting, players mark and replace their ball to achieve the correct alignment line. Montgomerie called out that move and also the highly scrutinized AimPoint technique.

“Once that ball is placed on the green, it should not be marked again to get the line on the ball, and then there is this business about AimPoint. Oh my God, don’t talk to me about that. It’s, oh God, it does my head in, the slow play,” said Montgomerie, on Today's Golfer's X post.

The R&A does have a Pace of Play Policy in place to keep this matter in check. Warnings, fines and penalty shots can be handed out if the policy is breached. Montgomerie felt the R&A isn’t acting on that.

“They say there’s a deterrent for slow play, don’t they? They say there’s a huge deterrent for slow play. 5 hours 40, was anybody penalised yesterday? No," Montgomerie said. "Something’s gotta be done because it’s too slow. Far too slow. If I had a bee in my bonnet, that was it, you know? Slow play.”

Not only Montgomerie but also Tyrell Hatton felt the same.

Tyrell Hatton on the pace of play at The Open

Tyrell Hatton was part of a marquee group alongside Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler for the opening two rounds at Royal Birkdale. They teed off early but finished their round late into the day.

“Yeah, it felt slow. I don’t know. I mean, to be honest, the conditions that we played in today were perfect, weren’t they? So in that sense, I don’t know if the golf course can, I don’t want to say play any easier, it’s still challenging out there,” Hatton said to the media, as shown on Chris McKee’s X post. 

Despite “perfect” playing conditions, Hatton’s group took roughly 6 hours to complete their rounds. The LIV golfer wondered what difficult conditions would’ve brought about.

Hatton called out the excess downtime but had no clue how to solve the pace of play issue.

What are your thoughts on Montgomerie’s statement? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Kaamna Dwivedi