Only a few weeks ago, the likes of Nelly Korda, Charley Hull, & Co. had to withstand grueling tests at PGA Frisco. While the course was a huge challenge, it was not the fairways and greens that bothered them the most. The LPGA Tour stars were left frustrated because of exhaustingly long delays due to slow play. The entire major event was plagued with slow-play issues that started serious conversations from the top golfers. And it seems that the conversation is still ongoing, 3 weeks after the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has concluded.

In an interview preceding the 2025 Amundi Evian Championship, Korda was asked, “How do you keep your focus if you’re leading a tournament and you’re stuck on a tee box or waiting to play the second shot?” The situation would puzzle anyone. It’s hard to imagine how much momentum a player might lose after making a great putt in the previous hole and having to wait just so the group ahead can complete their next stroke. Korda believes that it’s difficult to act on it in the middle of a round.

The world #1 said, “At the end of the day, you know you’re playing a round and you’re playing for — no matter what day it is, you’re playing for a championship, so you have to stay focused. I think the longer the rounds are, the more mentally draining sometimes they get. I mean, you just have to kind of s—- it up, build a bridge to get over it, and adjust to the circumstances at hand.”

As per Nelly Korda, the goal of every player is to complete the 18 holes for the day. They have to adjust to the demands of the course and act accordingly. Not every set of 18 can be completed within 4 and a half hours. This is not the first time Korda has responded this way to this topic. Back in June at PGA Frisco, when she was questioned about the slow play on the course, she had said, “You just kind of have to go with it. Everyone is going through it, everyone is dealing with it, and everyone is playing the same golf course.”

However, she wasn’t so merciful about the actions taken against slow players. When asked if she was in favor of penalizing her peers to promote improved pace of play, Korda said, “Yeah, for sure. The LPGA has already implemented some new rules this year for slow play, so I think I that’s improved on our Tour a tremendous amount.” Back in February 2025, the LPGA Tour announced stricter policies to penalize slow play. Depending on the duration of the offense, the golfer would be penalized. The penalty can be either a fine or a 1 or 2-stroke. Since then, the Tour has seen fewer incidents of slow play before the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Continuing to speak about the penalties, the 15-time LPGA Tour winner added, “At the end of the day, I think that if you start giving penalties to girls taking too long, then they’re not going to want to get penalized a shot or two. That can make a really big difference in whatever they want, prize money, cut, whatever. So they’re going to speed up at the end of the day. So the harsher the circumstances, the more they’re going to change.”

As Korda suggests, the current rules are strict. But the only way the LPGA Tour can make sure they are more effective is if it makes them harsher. Stroke penalties are a nightmare for any golfer. They can be the difference maker in winning the title or finishing outside the top 10. Many players can also miss cuts after getting penalized for slow play. Having the golfers on the edge will encourage them to play faster. That will promote a good pace of play on the Tour.

Stroke penalties are what Nelly Korda believes can be the harshest way to treat slow players. However, the likes of Charley Hull have a different idea of how repeat offenders of slow play should be treated.

Charley Hull has a far ruthless suggestion for slow play than Nelly Korda

Charley Hull was also asked about the slow play issue at the PGA Frisco. Unlike the World #1, the Englishwoman had a far harsher suggestion. She said, “I’m quite ruthless, but my idea would be if you get three bad ­timings, every time it’s a two-shot penalty. If you have three of them, you lose your tour card instantly.” To put it in numbers, after 3 repeated offences of missing the clock, a player will get a 2-stroke penalty. After they have accumulated 6-stroke penalties, they will automatically forfeit their LPGA Tour membership.

As harsh as that sounds, it will certainly bring every player back on track. If the loss of strokes wasn’t harsh enough, losing your card entirely could jeopardize your career. Hull had been frustrated with the slow-play issue of Lexi Thompson. She silently protested it in the first round of the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

If the top stars continue to speak up about the issues so often, then the LPGA Tour management might just start implementing stricter policies to improve the pace of play.