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“That just happens the whole way, hole after hole, or somebody yells in your backswing so you back off, it’s just, things happens, a bird dives in the water at 17,” he said. “So the only way to do it is to cut jobs. If you went down to a 100-man field, but who’s going to vote to cut jobs? … I can penalize you all day long but you’ve got 144 players, take away 44 jobs and the pace will improve but 44 people aren’t going to vote for it.”

Unlike Watson, I think there are things that could and should be done, from warnings which would name and shame, to penalties which are an obvious deterrent, to perhaps new formats similar to the shot clock event in Europe. If not for the tour, then do it for the game of golf. Commissioner Jay Monahan said last week that the PGA Tour won’t make their own rules because playing by one set of rules is aspirational for all golfers. If he views the PGA Tour as an example for all the game, then he should take the number one complaint in the sport for the past 50 years more seriously.

Watson’s solution isn’t that far-fetched. Last year, prior to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, the tour’s policy board approved a field reduction from 144 to 132 players because of worries about getting the first two rounds finished.

To McIlroy’s credit, top players speaking out could go a long way. We already saw the amount of attention some high-profile voices received when they, rightly or wrongly, spoke out against the implementation of the new rules. For their part, many of the game’s top players aren’t slow players. McIlroy, Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods all play quickly.

Until something is done, both professionals and weekend duffers are stuck with the same old way of avoiding slow play; getting yourself an early morning tee-time. Unfortunately, on the PGA Tour that’s not an ideal solution, especially on a Sunday.