Entertainment
Diabolical’ – Golf stars vent frustrations as major issue overshadows first round at the Open Championship
Golf stars expressed their frustrations at the slow pace of play during the opening round of The Open.
Slow rounds often spark annoyance whatever the level being played and it was very much the case at Royal Portrush on Thursday.
Some players were seen putting out on the 18th green around six hours after teeing off on the first hole.
The slow speed of play could be attributed to a multitude of factors.
Despite there being a whopping 156 golfers taking part at the open, no players start simultaneously on the first and 10th tee which is widely the case at majors played in the United States.
Weather conditions were not favourable on Thursday with spells of gusty wind and rain wreaking havoc on play.
Tee-shots regularly went off target and landed in the rough, leading to players spending extensive time looking for their balls.
Those involved were far from impressed with how the day’s play unfolded with Masters champion Rory McIlroy not completing his round until 9.04pm having teed off at 3.10pm.
“It felt like we were on the golf course for about 12 hours,” said Australia’s Marc Leishman, who plays on the LIV Golf tour.
“We’ve been on the course for three hours through eight holes.
“That was tough to deal with, especially coming from somewhere where we play in under four and a half hours every week.”
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre added: “We couldn’t have gone any faster. I guess golf courses are too long.”
Meanwhile, England’s Aaron Rai said: “It was a little on the slow side. But naturally with the challenging course, pace of play is going to be a little bit slower than normal.”
Golf podcast host Michael McEwan was particularly critical of how the day unfolded.
He wrote on X: “The pace of play today has been diabolical. I get that it’s a major, that there’s a lot at stake and blah blah blah. But let’s not kid ourselves on: six-hour rounds are just s****.
Pace of play is not solely a problem at The Open with problems reported at last month’s US Open at Oakmont.
A field of over 150 players were grouped in threes white facing the prospect of a challenging course with millions at stake.
And the same can be said of this week’s opening round at The Open with backlogs forming at the 5th hole due to players waiting on the tee for the green to clear.
And at one stage, five groups aligned on the 7th hole according to American golfer Keegan Bradley.
The field will hope the pace of play during the second round of the Open picks up, which you can keep up to date with via talkSPORT.
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Entertainment
Djokovic learns fate in new home as Sabalenka addresses behaviour
Express Sport brings you the latest tennis news from the Paris Masters.
We’re reaching the business end of the Paris Masters, as eight players become four in the French capital. Jannik Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy after Carlos Alcaraz was dumped out by Cameron Norrie in the Spaniard’s opening match. Norrie was then beaten by Valentin Vacherot, whose amazing 10-match winning streak at Masters 1000 level came to an end when he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Canadian star Auger-Aliassime will face Alexander Bublik in the semis. Bublik defeated Alex de Minaur, who is among those to have already qualified for the year-end ATP Finals. Sinner is through to his first Paris Masters semi-final after beating Ben Shelton. He’ll face defending champion Alexander Zverev, who survived a tough match against Daniil Medvedev.
Novak Djokovic is not involved in the Paris Masters, having decided to skip the event for the second year in a row, but he has learned his fate in the draw of next week’s ATP 250 in Athens. And over in Riyadh, the WTA Finals are about to get underway.
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