And irrespective of how laborious the golf media tried, the commissioner flat-batted each enquiry as to how that could be achieved.
Monahan doesn’t play verbal ‘Bazball’; each non-answer dictated by the fragile nature of golf’s future.
The place he was extra forthcoming, was an acceptance – in the end – that males’s skilled golf has an issue with sluggish play. It appears steps are being taken the place the most important offenders will begin to be named and shamed.
“We have dedicated to addressing the velocity of play,” Monahan mentioned as he introduced working group suggestions that will likely be carried out to attempt to erase one of many sport’s greatest blights.
“We’ll start publishing speed-of-play-related statistics later this season,” he added. From 14 April testing will start on the PGA Tour’s feeder circuits to impose stroke penalties on the slowest golfers.
Monahan additionally confirmed that the usage of vary finders will likely be allowed at tournaments between subsequent month’s Masters and the US PGA Championship in Could to see whether or not this improves spherical occasions.
“We’re listening to our followers and we’re responding, and clearly that is one thing the place they wish to see enchancment,” the commissioner mentioned.
“I believe there’s an actual dedication from gamers throughout the board to make sure that we’re doing all the pieces that we probably can to enhance, and these three steps are only a begin.”
It is a marked shift from an organisation that for many years insisted that sluggish play was not an issue. The rival LIV circuit has imposed stroke penalties on slowcoaches and now the PGA Tour is beginning to reply.
“I have a look at this as a really optimistic improvement,” Monahan insisted.
“I believe it is fairly telling that while you’ve acquired six participant administrators that sit on our boards, and you have 16 members of our Participant Advisory Council, that there is a number of shaking of heads and there is an understanding that that is an space the place we have to enhance.”
Two-time main winner Collin Morikawa says publishing knowledge that reveals which gamers are faster than others, thereby figuring out the slowest, is a good suggestion.
“I do not know why you would not need it to be launched,” mentioned the 2021 Open winner.
“You simply have to start out giving guys precise penalties, whether or not it’s strokes or FedExCup (level deductions). What I’ve discovered is that financial fines are ineffective.”
Morikawa added: “What’s there to cover, proper? When you’re sluggish, you realize you are sluggish. I imply, if you do not know, then there’s a difficulty.
“To me, there is no challenge with letting it out. It is solely going to make issues higher as a result of then you definitely’re both going to have a goal on you, put just a little extra stress and hopefully you decide it up, otherwise you get penalised. It is quite simple.”
Double US PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas agrees that publicly revealing which gamers are the slowest may have a helpful impact.
“No person needs to be generally known as that,” mentioned the US Ryder Cup star.
“I am the primary to confess I am on the sluggish aspect of gamers. It bothers me, however I’ve talked to many officers about it, like I wish to know why I am sluggish as a result of clearly the very first thing that any slower participant thinks is that they are not sluggish.”
Followers will certainly welcome such long-awaited initiatives to enhance tempo of play on the sport’s greatest tour.
However these awaiting some form of decision that brings the sport again collectively are nonetheless left enjoying the ready recreation.
