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Charley Hoffman has been on the news quite frequently over the past few days. Well, the slow play has been among the central complaints on the PGA Tour. Not just the fans, but also the players are frustrated with it. Enter Charley Hoffman, who is among the latest pros to not only point out the Tour’s ongoing struggles with the pace of play but also suggest ways players could improve their relationship with broadcast partners and even took a few jabs at those who aren’t sticking to PGA Tour events throughout the year.

Hoffman is no stranger to the inner workings of the Tour, having served on the Player Advisory Council multiple times and even on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board. But with Justin Thomas speaking out a couple of weeks ago, Hoffman felt it was his turn to add his voice to the conversation.

Rory McIlroy takes Charley Hoffman’s letter personally

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At the post-round presser of the fifth TGL Match (Boston Common Golf vs Los Angeles Golf Club), Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, and Keegan Bradley were asked about the letter written by Charley Hoffman criticizing players for having external commitments. Now Rory McIlroy, is not only playing on TGL, but is also the co-founder, and not to forget, he plays very actively on the DP World Tour. So the letter emerged as a personal hit targeted at him.

When asked if playing the matches has altered their regular schedule, Rory McIlroy said, “I think the thing he forgot to mention is the PGA TOUR owns 20 percent of TGL, so he’s criticizing his product. They also own a good chunk of European Tour Productions, so again — I thought some of the elements of the letter were fine, and addressed some issues. He was criticizing the Aon Swing 5. He was sixth in that.”. And that’s not all for the relevance of the letter. Rory McIlroy made changes in the 2025 PGA Tour season. He skipped The Sentry and is planning to be out in three other events.

He began the season just last year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Alarmingly, he will miss both the Cognizant Classic and the Valero Texas Open—two events he typically plays before the Masters to get into a rhythm. Unfortunately, his preparation didn’t pay off this time, as he finished T22 at the Valero, and then also struggled at the RBC Heritage and the first playoff event, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

“He talks about having it be for the good of the TOUR, but he’s also talking about himself, as well. I thought a couple of them were pointed at me a little bit because TGL, Race to Dubai, and non-PGA TOUR events like the Showdown that Scottie and I did in December, I’ve been vocal about not wanting to play quite as much so it seemed like it was pointed at me,” added the Northern Irishman. He went on to say how every player is going to look out for themselves, and well, these external commitments are what get them good fame. While they look out for the Tour as well, their only motive is to tee up and give their best in the game. Be it for the Tour events, or other tournaments.

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To get rid of the slow play, the PGA Tour did indeed host a meeting and introduce changes that were to be implemented from January 29. And while they did not seem to be working initially, there might be a little relief for the Tour.

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am witnesses a reduction in slow play 

According to stats shared by Todd Lewis on the NBC Golf Podcast, the event took less time than the TV broadcast window. During the discussion, the panel, including Rex Hoggard, Ryan Lavner, and Todd Lewis, briefly talked about the pace of play at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Hoggard kicked things off by mentioning a recent incident where a journalist raised concerns about the pace of play. He then asked, “Do you think the players are starting to get the message?”

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Answering it, Lewis shared, “I do actually.” He further highlighted how the pace of play for all four days was ahead of the prescribed time by the PGA Tour. “In other words, the tournament play ended before the broadcast was over, say they ended 15-20 minutes early,” he said. He then went on to share a surprising tidbit from an insider. “Thursday and Friday, I was told by rule officials here on the PGA Tour that the pace of play was the fastest it’s ever been in the first two rounds of this tournament,” he said. He also mentioned how this could become a talking point in the locker room, with players eager to avoid being labeled as slow players.

The second Signature event on the PGA Tour also saw a rise in viewership, during the final round. All thanks to Rory McIlroy’s win. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below!

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