• The Open

Slow play warning for Open stars

ESPN staff
July 19, 2012
The pace of play will be scrutinised by officials at The Open © Getty Images
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ESPN will have live updates and exclusive coverage from the Open Championship when it gets underway this week - with reporters at Royal Lytham & St Annes to bring you all the insight

Players will tee off at The Open on Thursday with a warning about slow play ringing in their ears.

Slow play is the curse of club player and professional alike and it is a hot topic of debate at present.

The R&A is desperate to provide a free-flowing event for spectators on the ground at Royal Lytham and television viewers alike and any signs of slow play will be jumped on - with one-shot penalties for serial offenders.

"We have a pace‑of‑play policy which we intend to apply stringently," Jim McArthur, chairman of the championship committee, said. "This year we are putting slow play as a priority.

"We would have no hesitation if we felt the players were over time to take the appropriate action, although we've obviously got to take into account the weather conditions and other mitigating circumstances.

"We give each group a time schedule for each hole and we monitor that very stringently. If a group is out of position with the game in front or over the time schedule, we start with words of encouragement to communicate with them and tell them that they are over the schedule or out of position.

"Thereafter, if they don't respond to that, we then put them on to the clock and deal with them that way. A second 'bad time', as the terminology goes, would precipitate the one-stroke penalty."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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