PGA Tour under immense pressure as LIV Golf Riyadh flexes its quick Pace of Play

The rivalry between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour continues to grow. LIV Golf recently flexed its superior pace of play in the first round of the LIV Golf Riyadh event.

In a post on X, LIV Golf highlighted that the total time taken to complete the first round of LIV Golf Riyadh was 4 hours and 24 minutes. This is contrary to PGA Tour rounds which often extend beyond five hours.

LIV Golf, the Saudi-backed tour, was launched in 2022 to rival the PGA Tour. It introduced concepts like the shotgun start and a stricter shot clock to address slow play.

Players in the LIV Golf league are required to hit their shots within 40 seconds of their turn, with 10 extra seconds for the first player taking a stroke within their group. This is similar to the PGA Tour where players are permitted a maximum of 40 seconds to execute a stroke.

The PGA Tour and LPGA Tour have recently received heavy criticism from golf analysts and players for failing to address the slow pace of play. Notably, the LPGA Tour recently changed guidelines and implemented stricter penalties, even for exceeding the allotted time by as little as one second.

Recently, World No.3 Rory McIlroy suggested the PGA Tour implement a shot clock to address slow play. He said (via ASAP Sports):

"Look, if you could somehow implement the shot clock in some way and be able to police it consistently, I think that would be a really cool thing. Much easier to do in this controlled environment compared to a golf course that spans 100 or 200 acres."

In TGL, a 40-second shot clock maintains the pace of play; exceeding the limit invites a one-stroke penalty for the team.

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PGA Tour player Charley Hoffman writes an open letter to players over the slow pace of play

PGA Tour veteran Charley Hoffman recently wrote an open letter to players on several issues, including the slow pace of play. The letter was shared by Golf.com's writer Sean Zak on his X page. Hoffman wrote:

"We've taken a lot of heat over the past few weeks about slow play," Hoffman wrote. "And yeah, it's an issue-for our fans, for us as players-cutting down field sizes will help, but only by a few minutes a day. As players, we still need to make a concerted effort to speed up. Pace of play has been a challenge my entire 20 years on Tour, and it was an issue 20 years before that."

Charley Hoffman turned professional in 2000 and joined the PGA Tour in 2006. He further said:

"Golf is a tough game, and when conditions get extreme, it takes time to play it the right way. We all need to take responsibility to be ready when it's our turn to play and having the awareness to realize that we are out of position and speed up even before the rules official shows up. We do it all the time, we just need to be more aware of it!"

Hoffman has played 518 tournaments and has made the cut in 356 of them. The 48-year-old has four wins, 29 top-5 finishes and 62 top-10 finishes to his credit. He has official earnings of $35,717,825 from the PGA Tour.