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Golf legend Dottie Pepper didn't hesitate to express her frustration with slow play during Saturday's Farmers Insurance Open final round. She urged golfers to "respect" fans, fellow players, and broadcasters.
The two-time Major championship winner and CBS on-course reporter had followed the leading group of Harris English, Andrew Novak, and Aldrich Potgieter for around three hours on Saturday in rather cold and windy conditions. Pepper expressed her irritation to her teammate Frank Nobilo when the golfers reached the 10th, saying:
"You know, Frank, I think we're starting to need a new word to talk about this pace of play issue, and it's respect. For your fellow competitors, for the fans, for broadcasts, for all of it. It's just gotta get better," (via Golf Digest)
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Nobilo agreed with Dottie Pepper's sentiment. The last round of the Farmers Insurance Open was moving rather slowly, with golfers averaging 20 minutes per hole. The final group had teed off at 2:11 pm ET and it looked like they wouldn't finish until it was dark. It seemed like the playoff would have to be shifted to the next day.
But the group picked up their pace and the final round ended with 15 minutes to spare on the TV broadcast window. Harris English won the tournament after carding a score of 8-under.
"They really need to speed up the pace of play", "I have quit watching" - Fans react to Dottie Pepper's statement about slow play
Golf viewership is currently facing several viewership issues. While many causes can be listed for the decreasing ratings, slow play could also be one of them. Tough weather conditions can be blamed for the pace of play issues at the Farmers Insurance Open this week.
However, the same can't be said about the 2025 American Express last weekend. In perfect conditions, the leading group finished 40 minutes beyond the TV broadcast window last Sunday. The group took five hours and 39 minutes to complete with Sepp Straka winning the title.
Slow play has been frustrating golfers and most importantly viewers for quite a while. Many fans resonated with Dottie Pepper's statement on Saturday with some hoping that it could help push the PGA Tour towards a solution. The comments poured in a reposted X video of the broadcast featuring her statement (embedded above)
"I'm a PGA Tour loyalist, but they really need to speed up the pace of play. As we've heard ad nauseum, this is one of the issues that fans can't stand and why tv viewers tend to turn the channel. It needs to be addressed in a real way by penalizing players on the PGA Tour if they can't keep time par,"
"Doesn’t matter anymore. The fans, who pay money, have said this for many years and USGA and the PGA Tour did nothing. I have quit watching. If they take a big revenue hit they will change, but again why would I care? They only responded to the money, not the fans."
Previously LPGA Tour golfer Charley Hull had voiced out her frustration with slow play. Fellow LPGA star Nelly Korda and PGA Tour golfer Max Homa supported her statement by reposting a video of it on their social media stories.
