Golf’s governing bodies have stepped up their effort to speed up the game with two pace-of-play penalties issued in three days.
The PGA Tour handed out their first penalty for slow play in 22 years during the opening round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell penalised one stroke as a team.
The European Tour followed suit on Saturday, with Soomin Lee given a one-shot penalty by chief referee John Paramor during the third round of the Volvo China Open.
Carballo and Campbell were penalised at the 14th hole of the team event, having both individually warned for taking too long to play a shot during the round.
The plays went on to post a two-over 74 on their way to missing the cut, with the pair the first to be given a slow-play penalty on the PGA Tour since Glen Day at the 1995 Honda Classic.
Lee was punished at the 14th hole at Topwin Golf Club and Country Club, having previously been warned twice for his pace of play. That turned his bogey on the hole into a double-bogey, seeing him sign for a one-over 73.
The penalties come after the R&A and USGA last month announced proposals for several significant changes to the Rules of Golf, designed to reduce penalties and speed up the general pace of play.
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