PGA Tour contender penalised for slow play in KFT Finals

Bryson Nimmer's hopes of earning a PGA Tour card were dealt a blow after he was hit with a slow-play penalty in the opening round of the Korn Ferry Tour's Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.

The tournament, held at the Ohio State University, is the second of four events in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals series, with the top 20 players on the points list graduating to the PGA Tour next season.

Nimmer is currently 36th in the KFT points standings, but his hopes of moving up the table were hampered by a first-round 73 - 2-over par, leaving him with a tough task just to make the cut.

And his task was made harder after he fell foul of the new pace-of-play policy that was implemented by the second-tier Tour almost six months ago.

Nimmer began his round on the 10th and was level-par for the day after eight holes with his group on the clock after being warned by the referee following them.

He was the first to play his approach shot, and Nimmer was required to do so within the allotted 50-second time limit, while his playing partners would have had 40 seconds each to hit afterwards.

Nimmer made a good par on the hole, but that was changed to a bogey-5 after it was revealed he took too long to play his second shot, and it wasn't even close.

Officials adjudged that he took 68 seconds to play his shot and, as it was his second warning for slow play in the round, he was punished with a one-stroke penalty.

A statement released by the Korn Ferry Tour read: "Bryson Nimmer was assessed a one-stroke penalty during Round 1 of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship for exceeding the time allowed to play a stroke in accordance with the Korn Ferry Tour Pace of Play policy.

"Nimmer took 68 seconds to play his second stroke on the 18th hole, exceeding the time allowed to play the stroke by 18 seconds."

The new pace-of-play policy applies to both the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Americas, but it has yet to be introduced by the main PGA Tour.