LIV Golf pro given SLOW PLAY (!) penalty after taking 84 seconds over tee shot

England's Richard Bland was assessed a one-stroke penalty during the second round of LIV Golf Valderrama for playing too slowly, according to officials.

Ben Smith

02 Jul 2023

LIV Golf pro given SLOW PLAY (!) penalty after taking 84 seconds over tee shot — LIV Golf pro given SLOW PLAY (!) penalty after taking 84 seconds over tee…

England's Richard Bland was docked one stroke for playing too slowly during the second round of LIV Golf Valderrama.

Talk of slow play has been all the rage recently.

For evidence of that, look no further than French DP World Tour pro Michael Lorenzo-Vera who took to social media during a tournament round to call out the group of players in front of him.

Sure, he was destined for a missed cut at the BMW International Open, but still, you have to hurry up!

Lorenzo-Vera later made the claim that some players sitting on the tournament committee attempting to combat the problem are the guilty parties. It's a fake battle, he said.

But that was then, and this is now. Bland was playing the second round of the eighth event of the breakaway tour's second season.

The penalty was applied after his group were warned by officials and then put on the clock. Apparently, the Englishman took 84 seconds to hit his tee shot on the par-3 15th hole in Andalucia.

Officials later stated:

"In round two, the group of Dean Burmester, Sergio Garcia and Richard Bland were officially warned by a rules official after their foruth hole of the day (hole 8) where the group was out of position on the golf course as well as behind in relation to time par.

"After their ninth hole of the day (hole 13) the group, who had further lost position on the course, was officially timed by a rules official. In accordance with the LIV Golf League Pace of Play Policy, 'A player has 40 seconds to play each stroke, with an additional 10 seconds if they are the first to play any stroke in the group.'

"On the tee of the 15th hole, Richard Bland, who was first to play, received a time of 84 seconds for his first stroke. This exceeded the allotted time per the policy. Bland was immediately notified by an official and assessed a one-stroke penalty. With the one-stroke penalty, Bland's score of four on the par-3 15th hole resulted in a score of five."

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