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Sunday
Jan282018

Ponte Vedra We Have A Problem: J.B. Holmes Takes 4 Minutes, 10 Seconds To Lay Up When Millions Were Watching

Tim Finchem famously discouraged slow play penalties during his reign as Commissioner. Other than Glen Day in 1995 and an odd slow play stroke penalty at last year's Zurich Classic, the PGA Tour has used a secret fining system to protect player brands and breed a culture of entitlement.

Rarely have things spilled over into as loathsome a display of self-centeredness as J.B. Holmes taking four minutes and 10 seconds to play one shot in the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open final round. He faced a decision of whether to go for the 18th green in two shots or lay-up. Two strokes back and needing eagle to make an eventual playoff, Holmes ultimately chose to lay up and did so terribly.

This nonsense was set against the backdrop of a round already nearing a six-hour pace due to blustery conditions on a firm, fast golf course lined by thick rough. CBS was already running over into their planned Grammy's Red Carpet show, and now facing a decision whether to stay with the golf or go to the Grammy's start at 8 pm ET. To their credit, CBS stayed with the last group completing play, then turned the broadcast over to Golf Channel.

Due to the Grammy's bump, this meant millions were tuning in to watch music's big night and getting a flavor of PGA Tour golf. What they saw was an embarrassment to the sport, a reinforcing of every stereotypical view and a painful product of a Ponte Vedra discouragement of slow play rules enforcement.

There was, however, one positive. Holmes was slammed on social media and some of it is quite entertaining, as this Golfweek roundup shows. Luke Donald excoriated his peer.

While no one wanted to see CBS put in a predicament, television networks have long exhibited ho-hum attitudes about PGA Tour non-enforcement of pace of play. Even known-violators like Holmes, who is inconsistent in his pacing compared to known turtles like Ben Crane or Jason Day, have escaped any significant censure by the PGA Tour thanks to twenty years of enforcement complacency.

To date, new Commissioner Jay Monahan has publicly suggested he does not see slow play as major issue as his counterparts in Europe introduce new rules and even a shot clock tournament. And there certaily are times where an indecisive player on a risk-reward hole makes for dramatic theater. However, when it's a known slow-poke who ultimately doesn't even take the risky shot in hopes of winning, the appearance is dreadful.

Perhaps a Monday phone call to Monahan from CBS Sports head Sean McManus or network honcho Les Moonves will convince the tour it's time to embolden the rules officials to dish out more bad times so that a Holmes-at-Torrey fiasco is never repeated again.

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Reader Comments (48)

Anything that delays the Grammy's suits me! I think JB was ready to hit a couple of times but the crowd was moving around up by the green and he had to back off, after that he started changing his mind about the shot.

@Pete, Noren and Palmer are seasoned professionals. They are playing while I'm watching and you are refereeing and an important contributing reason why is they have elite abilities to compartmentalize and concentrate when the heat is on. Sure, that's not OK on every shot but neither gave a rats ass about having to wait an extra minute or two. .

Anyone care to guess how many eagles were made on South course #18 during the week? Here's how the leaders played it: 4/4/4, 5/4/5, 4/5/4, 4/5/5. One of those guys seems to think his way through #18 better than the rest.
01.29.2018 | Unregistered CommenterJBH
PMG - Wrong. Jordan was getting a ruling - and an important and confusing one at that. Completely different scenario. If that cost Kuchar the major, then it's no wonder he doesn't get many shots at one.

Thanks for the exhaustive explanation of what we already know Zokol, next you'll tell us that water is wet.
01.29.2018 | Unregistered CommenterPress Agent
DVRs make watching live TV a thing of the past. Record the golf, start watching an hour or so after the telecast starts, and you will finish at the same time as the live telecast, Besides not having to watch commercials, the sponsoring CEO interview, 3 replays of every shot tiger hit, and other sponsored fluff, you get an hour of your life to spend on something else. All while seeing all the golf shots that the networks manage to show. JB can take as long as he wants - just a skip click or two (or 3 or 4...)

Try it. The Super Bowl is coming up and can be watched in half of the time on your DVR. I can't remember the last time I watched live TV.
01.29.2018 | Unregistered CommenterBud
@ Bud 1+
Agree completely.
simple decision, lay up or try to win, should have taken 10 seconds.....what a joke
01.29.2018 | Unregistered CommenterSteve Wozeniak
J.B. looked totally frozen in the moment and his caddy would not shut up. In hindsight, his golfer needed the yardage(s), a club recommendation, a target and a helpful swing thought or two. Commit to it. You got this. It's what Fowler's caddy did at The Players when he owned the 17th.
01.29.2018 | Unregistered CommenterAl B. Tross
Slow play just disrespects the Game, those playing with you, the spectators and shows nothing short of contempt for everyone on the golf course.
Slow players should not be removed from a course but should be made to accrue penalty strokes for each and every delay they cause.
If they manage to get three penalty strokes, then they should be blacklisted (banned) from the next match.
01.30.2018 | Unregistered CommenterTom Morris
@Wozniak you are clueless.
01.30.2018 | Unregistered CommenterJBH

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