LPGA professional faces slow-play accusations (once more) after current win

LPGA veteran Carlota Ciganda captured her eighth-career Girls European Tour victory on Sunday in her dwelling nation of Spain. However a problem that has dogged the Spanish professional reared its head once more throughout her win: slow-play accusations.

Ciganda shot a one-under 71 on Sunday to safe her W on the Andalucía Costa del Sol Open de España, but it surely didn’t come with out problem, as she noticed a big 54-hole lead almost slip away.

“It wasn’t straightforward, typically when you’ve got a four-shot lead it’s not straightforward,” Ciganda mentioned after the spherical. “I haven’t been up there shortly, so I had some adrenaline happening and began with a few bogeys.”

The European Solheim Cup star made a clutch birdie at 17 to offer herself a two-shot lead heading to the final, the place she made one other bogey to simply cling on for a one-shot victory.

“I fought actually laborious, I’m a fighter,” Ciganda mentioned of her spherical, “I attempt to give my 100% each time I play golf and that’s what I attempted to do. It was a very good day for me.”

However following her win, a video surfaced on X posted by @Golfingbrock of Ciganda hitting her strategy shot on the par-4 fifteenth gap at Actual Membership Guadalhorce Golf.

The video begins together with her taking part in companion’s shot, then reveals your complete sequence of Ciganda making ready to hit her shot, together with a time clock within the nook. From the second her taking part in companion’s ball involves relaxation to when Ciganda lastly hits her shot, roughly 1 minutes and 20 seconds cross.

On the LPGA and PGA excursions, gamers are allotted solely 40 seconds to hit a shot. In particular eventualities, PGA Tour gamers are given an additional 20 seconds to hit. Ciganda’s time nicely exceeded these marks.

However Ciganda was not penalized for sluggish play. In a response to the unique submit, Monday Q Information reported that in Saturday’s third spherical Ciganda was placed on the clock after receiving a foul time, however she additionally was not penalized for that offense. Provided that her margin of victory was one shot, a hypothetical stroke-penalty for tempo of play would have had dramatic ramifications for the event.

This isn’t the primary time Ciganda averted a stroke-penalty for sluggish play, however the final time led to a disqualification.

On the 2023 Evian Championship, and LPGA main, Ciganda was assessed a two-stroke penalty on the ninth gap of the second spherical after her group was placed on the clock after which she exceeded her allowed time to play.

On the lower line on the time, Ciganda appealed the penalty within the scoring tent, however when LPGA officers denied her enchantment, she refused so as to add the penalty strokes to her rating. Consequently, she was disqualified beneath Rule 3.3b(3) for returning a rating decrease than her precise rating.

And Ciganda’s historical past with sluggish play offenses doesn’t cease there. On the LPGA’s 2021 Financial institution of Hope Match Play occasion, Ciganda seemingly defeated Sarah Schmelzel 1 up of their match by profitable the 18th gap. However after the ultimate putt dropped, Ciganda was assessed a common slow-play penalty, which in match play leads to the lack of the outlet.

And identical to that, Ciganda went from match winner to match loser.

“I do know I’ve to enhance, and I’ll attempt to do this subsequent yr,” Ciganda instructed Golfweek of her tempo of play at The Annika final month. “I don’t suppose folks perceive how robust golf could be … mentally it’s so much more durable than what folks suppose. Golfers simply drink some beers and play some golf, and we do that for a residing. Lots goes by means of in your thoughts.”

Sluggish play was a scorching subject late within the 2024 LPGA season. After enduring a sluggish tempo at The Annika occasion in mid-November, LPGA professional Charley Hull sounded off on the problem.

“It’s ridiculous and I really feel sorry for the followers how sluggish it’s on the market,” Hull mentioned. “We had been on the market for 5 hours and 40 minutes yesterday. We play in a four-ball at dwelling on a tough golf course and we’re spherical in three and a half, 4 hours. It’s fairly loopy.”

Hull shared her “ruthless” resolution to the issue, involving two-stroke penalties for each offense and a lack of a Tour card for any participant with three offenses.

Coincidentally, on the similar event Ciganda was reportedly hit with a $4,000 superb for sluggish play.

Whereas many gamers shared their opinions on sluggish play on the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, not everybody shares Hull’s anger. Angel Yin spoke to GOLF’s Nick Piastowski earlier than the occasion, and she or he admitted tempo of play has a minimum of improved since she first got here on tour.

“If I’ve to essentially say, through the years I’ve been on tour, I believe it was worse earlier than. It was worse earlier than, we had been ready extra, and I believe now now we have a very good combination of quick gamers after which that’s when the sluggish gamers actually begin displaying up. As a result of the vast majority of the ladies are taking part in a lot quicker, the place you can’t be actually too sluggish or then you definately begin getting behind,” Yin mentioned.