“The Rules of Golf are the Rules of Golf” - Nelly Korda calls for the ‘enforcement’ of regulations on slow play in golf ahead of 2023 AIG Women’s Open

LPGA Tour player Nelly Korda recently opened up about slow-play games in her pre-tournament conference ahead of the 2023 AIG Women's Open. Korda called for 'enforcement' of rules in the game of golf.

Slow play has been this year's headline in men's and women's golf tournaments. Last month Carlota Ciganda was disqualified from the Amundi Evian championship after she declined to sign the two-stroke penalty scorecard for slow play.

On Wednesday, August 9, Nelly Korda attended a press conference of this week's major event where she was asked to comment on the slow play.

“I think at the end of the day, the Rules of Golf are the Rules of Golf and they should be enforced,” Nelly said. “I really like Carlota. She’s a great person. I enjoy playing with her. I am a fast player, but I would say at the end of the day the Rules of Golf are the Rules of Golf, and it’s good that it’s being enforced.”

“I think it should be monitored. I mean, if I’m being honest, if I was a spectator and I was out here for 5 ½ hours to 6 hours, you know, it’s tough to watch, right. You want to watch a sport that’s continuously moving and not continuously stalling," she added.

Nelly Korda will begin the first round of the AIG Women's Open on Thursday, August 10. She will pair up with Lydia Ko and Charley Hull. Speaking about her group members, Korda said:

“I love Charley, she’s so much fun to be around. I love playing with her. I’ve played a couple practice rounds with her. We’re pretty friendly."

The 2023 AIG Women's Open will have its final on Sunday, August 13.

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"They don’t understand what professional golf is about" - Carlota Ciganda slammed officials for a slow-play penalty

During the second round of the Evian Championship, Carlota Ciganda was penalized for slow play. On the seventh hole, officials cautioned her, but she continued to play slowly before receiving a two-stroke penalty on the ninth hole.

However, Ciganda refused to accept the punishment and was later disqualified from the tournament.

Later, the Spanish golfer addressed the incident on her social media. Carlota criticized the referees for imposing a penalty for slow play in her Instagram story last month. She wrote in an Instagram post:

"Very poor performance from the LPGA rules official, they don’t understand what professional golf is about, they only look at their stopwatch like if 20 seconds is going to make a difference. I had family and friends watching and they all said it was impossible I took that long to hit that putt!"

Carlota Ciganda's Instagram story (Image via Instagram/@carlotagolf)

However, this was not the first time Carlota Ciganda was penalized for her slow play. She had previously received a penalty for slow play at the Bank of Hope event in 2021.