We’ll speed up war on slow play GOLF CHIEFS ACT AFTER ROW TURNS TOXIC

No 1 Brooks Koepka made no secret of his displeasure at the time taken by playing partner JB Holmes during the final round of the Open Championship at Portrush last month.

Rory McIlroy has said that slow players receive too many warnings before being penalised and, although PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan has previously stated he does not consider slow play to be a problem, the latest incident may finally prompt action.

The PGA Tour’s current policy puts players “on the clock” when their group falls out of position.

The players get 40 seconds to take a shot and a first violation results in a warning, while a second one during the same round is punished with a onestroke penalty.

The PGA Tour said in a statement: “The Tour’s current pace-of-play policy only addresses players whose groups have fallen out of position.

“The Tour is now exploring whether to expand its policy to also address players whose groups are in position, but who take an excessive amount of time to hit a shot.”

Tyler Dennis, the Tour’s chief of operations, added: “We know that the individual habits of players when they are preparing to hit a shot can quickly become a focal point in today’s world, and our players and fans are very passionate about this.

“We are in the process of reviewing this aspect of pace of play and asking, ‘Is there a better way to do it?’.

“We think technology plays a key role in all of this and we are thinking about new and innovative ways to use it to address these situations.”