Francesco Molinari vented his frustrations about a slow play warning on Twitter, saying that it was “incredible” that he’d been singled out. The Twitter rant began after he’d finished his first round at the WGC-Mexico Championship with an even par 71.
Molinari joins a long list of pros who’ve gotten upset about the PGA Tour’s haphazard enforcement of rules around slow play, with some asserting that more famous players are less likely to be slapped with a warning or penalty. The PGA Tour gave out its first slow play penalty in more than 20 years in 2017, to the team of Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.
Molinari admitted that he took too long on his shot, but said he was angry because the PGA Tour did not apply the rules in an evenhanded way.
Read the full tweetstorm below:
Today I got the second bad time of my career 13 years after the first one! Incredible how 62 seconds when you have 50 to hit the shot cost you a bad time and then people taking 2 minutes over a shot are ok
— Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) March 2, 2018
No reason to appeal the bad time. The rules are clear and I took too long.
The problems is:
players dramatically changing their routine when the referee is timing them (I clearly didn’t as I don’t feel I need to)
Let’s time players with no warning and see what happens https://t.co/oBJbG3oATl— Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) March 2, 2018
First bad time is only a warning. Second bad time in the same round is a shot penalty. 2nd bad time in the season is a monetary fine https://t.co/mIAZo9bf9C
— Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) March 2, 2018
Not my point. I know I took too long. Happened twice in 14 years. I have been on the clock a lot of times in between these bad times. Never seen a slow player take a bad time https://t.co/BbFuhYDxv3
— Francesco Molinari (@F_Molinari) March 2, 2018
