Billy Horschel wants PGA Tour players penalized for slow play

Jason Day ran away from Louis Oosthuizen in Sunday’s match play championship round in Austin. Unfortunately, the methodical way with which the new world No. 1 dispatched of Oosthuizen -- and Rory McIlroy before him in the semifinals -- was more like an agonizingly sluggish trudge to the finish line that had golf watchers racing for their Twitter feeds.

Granted, Day was dealing with a bad back that nearly forced him to withdraw from the WGC-Dell Match Play during Thursday’s opening round. And on Sunday he was one of just four competitors on the course, which meant cameras captured his every glacial move that included a lengthy pre-shot routine involving visualization.

But tell that to the judge -- or, in this case, perhaps, the rules officials. At least one of Day’s regular opponents was long gone from Austin City Limits by Sunday, when online carping about the pace of play from the reigning PGA champion with a poignant life story and gracious demeanor reached critical mass.

Indeed, Billy Horschel -- who went 1-3 at Austin CC -- believes the only way to crack down on slow play is to add strokes to offending players’ scorecards.

Last week was not the first time the clip at which Day paces himself was the subject of withering criticism.

Secret Tour Pro (who purports to be just that but who knows?) earlier this year complained that “Jason AllDay” was slower even than those notorious tortoises Ben Crane, Kevin Na and Keegan Bradley.

“The biggest high profile culprit of slow play is Jason Day! We should call him Jason AllDay, he’s that slow!” STP said in a column. “F@#% me, he reminds me of that moment at the dentist when your having a root canal and any moment he will be finished and then he utters those dreadful words ‘just a few more minutes then I’ll be done!’

”I watched him on the 17th at the BMW in November taking nine minutes over his tee shot on a Par 3! Yes, you heard that correct, NINE F&$#@% MINUTES!*

“Who takes nine minutes over a tee shot? I could of played the hole, read a book, took a shower, washed my hair and got dry in that time! The game has gone beyond a joke! In total his round took 5hr 45min, just think in that time I could of (nearly) flown to New York from Europe!”

STP weighed in again on Sunday …

… and at least a majority of social media members responding to one poll agreed with the assessments of Horschel and his purportedly anonymous crony.

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