Give the European Tour credit: at least they’re doing something to combat slow play.
During the first round of the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the final tournament in the Euro Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai, three-time winner this year, Matt Wallace, was put on the clock and subsequently punished for playing too slowly.
On the seventh hole, Wallace was informed by European Tour chief referee Andy McFee that he was playing too slowly and had been put on the clock. Clearly unphased by the warning, Wallace would birdie both the seventh and eighth holes before rolling in a lengthy par putt on the 9th to turn in 2-under par.
McFee then approached Wallace again and told him despite only playing those three holes in 11 strokes, he had taken too long to complete the hole. Instead of docking him a stroke, Wallace was fined 3,000 pounds.
Matt Wallace FINED £3,000 for slow play despite back-to-back Dubai birdies https://t.co/vzQE2vq1wE #Sport pic.twitter.com/8erVvhzD0m
— Steve Brookes MBE (@SteveBrookes69) November 15, 2018
“The good thing, I guess, I paid for the fine in holing the (par) putt,” he told reporters. “Though it was frustrating and it kind of put me out of flow for the next three or four holes so much so, I played those holes in 2-over.”
If he wasn’t flustered by being put on the clock, he was by ultimately being knocked for it. Wallace would par Nos. 10 and 11 before making back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13. He rebounded admirably, however, birdieing four of his last five holes to shoot 4-under par 68.
Wallace followed up his 68 with a 7-under par 65 on Friday to take the 36-hole lead.
