The Amazing Pace: Slow Rounds Causing Penalties at US Amateur

Get ready for six hour rounds at the US Open in 2015. Chambers Bay is showing us this week in the US Amateur that the 7700 yard test is going to be an awfully long trek - and Phil Keoghan won't be waiting in the scoring trailer.

Sean Martin reports from outside of Tacoma, Washington, that in the opening round of the US Amateur - almost ironically highlighted by a speedy, record setting 62 by 47-year-old Jeff Wilson - twelve players were assessed one stroke pace-of-play penalties. Martin describes a line out the scoring tent at times of player seeking to appeal the penalties.

For the US Amateur, a checkpoint system has been adopted by the USGA to enforce pace of play targets. If players fail to meet them, they are given that one stroke penalty.

With Chambers Bay being a long walk from any set of tees, much less the championship posts, and the course bordering on too difficult, penalties were a possibility.

As a harbinger of what may be to come for Chambers in 2015, Mike Davis was asked in an interview for the USGA website before the 2009 US Open  about bringing the checkpoint system to their three Opens.

His response?

"At the end of the day, if we were concerned about nothing more than improving pace of play at the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open, we would go to that because it absolutely, positively works. We can improve pace of play by probably a half-hour to 40 minutes at the U.S. Open if we did this, but I think it would be so disconcerting to some of the players. I think long-term, you might see this. "