Golf is known for its traditions and strict rules. Officials have penalized many golfers throughout history for not following rules and regulations. One famous instance is of the legend, Tiger Woods. During the 2013 Masters, Woods dropped a ball incorrectly in a water hazard. This led to a two-stroke penalty, which affected his standings on the leaderboard. This reminds us that even in high-pressure events, the rules and regulations of golf matter as much as the swing. And one of the most recent policy changes on the LPGA Tour has been about the slow pace of play.

Rookie Ina Yoon faced the consequences of not abiding by these new policies firsthand at the 2025 Maybank Championship. LPGA Media shared the news about the same through an X post. “Ina Yoon was assessed a one-stroke slow play penalty on No. 15 during the second round of the Maybank Championship,” LPGA Media wrote in the post.

The $3 million Maybank Championship features many LPGA stars, including the World No. 1, Jeeno Thitikul, along with others like Lydia Ko and Minjee Lee. The new slow-pace-of-play rule on the LPGA Tour has made its presence felt at this star-studded tournament. Because of the penalty, Ina Yoon finished the par-4 15th hole with a bogey. She managed to cover it with an impressive eagle on the 18th hole. She is currently tied at 13th with rounds of 69-68. If it weren’t for the penalty stroke, Yoon would have been tied 4th alongside Lydia Ko and others.

Ina Yoon’s penalty results from the slow-pace-of-play policy announced first in February 2025 and revised in March 2025. “Looking at the data, we concluded that if a player had 40 or more holes timed over the season, that player contributed to a slower pace of play,” said LPGA Player President Vicki-Goetze Ackerman when announcing the policy changes.

Under this policy, players taking 6 to 15 seconds longer than the allotted time for a shot receive a one-stroke penalty. Those who take 16 or more seconds are assessed with a two-stroke penalty. Players taking 1 to 5 seconds over are fined but not penalized with strokes.

The LPGA decided to announce the policy because of growing concerns about the slow pace of play. English golfer Charley Hull was one of the most vocal about it. She even shared some tips for penalizing golfers. “Listen, like, 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. Go back to Q School.’ Because I’m sure that would hurry a lot of people up, and they won’t want to lose their tour card. That’d kind of kill the slow play, but they’d never do that,” she said.

Besides her, the former World No. 1, Nelly Korda, has repeatedly called slow play a “pretty big issue” that drags the game down. “I think the longer the rounds are, the more mentally draining sometimes they get,” she said. Lexi Thompson had also raised concerns over the slow pace. Ironically, the three were playing together in The ANNIKA 2024 when their last round was played in close to complete darkness.

Ina Yoon now faced the consequences of these regulations. However, it is not the first time she has faced penalties because of the rules. In fact, this one-stroke penalty is nothing compared to what she had already endured.

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Ina Yoon was suspended from all KLPGA tournaments

In 2022, Yoon was suspended from all KLPGA tournaments for three years. The decision came after the Korean golfer released a statement saying she played the wrong ball at the DB Group Korea Women’s Open Golf Championship. Although she admitted her fault, the KLPGA gave a harsh decision, stating she didn’t come forward for a very long time. “We will continue to deal sternly with similar incidents,” read a KLPGA statement.

She was a rookie when this happened. Therefore, she didn’t know what to do after realizing that she had hit the wrong ball. It was on the 15th hole of the first round of the Korea Women’s Open. However, her ban was lifted after 18 months, and she made a comeback in 2024.

Despite a long absence from professional golf, her comeback was seamless. She recorded an impressive three runner-up finishes and was ranked 4th in player points in the first half of the 2024 season. Her shot-making skills made it look like her long absence had no consequences. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to perform this well so quickly,” she said. “I had a fairly long break and distanced myself from golf for a while. But within a short period, I’ve been competing for wins and making the cut.”

Ina Yoon’s current penalty is very small compared to her ban. However, it underscores how closely the LPGA is watching the pace of play this season.