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PGA Tour contemplates announcing fines as part of study into slow play

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PGA Tour contemplates announcing fines as part of study into slow play
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PGA Tour contemplates announcing fines as part of study into slow play

2025-01-30 08:56 Last Updated At:09:01

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The PGA Tour is taking a hard look at whether to allow rangefinders and publicize violations as part of a comprehensive study on pace of play and other enhancements to the game that have come out of a survey of 50,000 golf fans.

Tour officials were purposely short on specifics Wednesday during a meeting with reporters on the “Fan Forward” initiative that Commissioner Jay Monahan announced a year ago. He is expected to go into greater detail at The Players Championship in March.

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Max Homa hits his tee shot on the 11th hole of the North Course at Torrey Pines during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Max Homa hits his tee shot on the 11th hole of the North Course at Torrey Pines during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Jhonattan Vegas hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Jhonattan Vegas hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Sam Burns hits from the second tee at La Quinta Country Club Course during the first round of the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Sam Burns hits from the second tee at La Quinta Country Club Course during the first round of the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Harris English walks on the the 18th green on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Harris English walks on the the 18th green on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Harris English celebrates after winning the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Harris English celebrates after winning the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

But the preview session at Pebble Beach supported Monahan's message late last year that “everything is on the table” as the PGA Tour embarks on a series of changes.

“I think as we roll the clock forward three, five, 10 years, we’re going to look back at 2025 as an inflection point in the evolution of the tour,” said Andy Weitz, the tour's chief marketing and communications officer.

He said part of that was capital growth from the investment of Strategic Sports Group, which put $1.5 billion into PGA Tour Enterprise with the potential to double the amount.

Fenway Sports Group, a big part of SSG, has Theo Epstein as a senior advisor. Epstein, former general manager of the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, worked with Major League Baseball on recent changes that include a pitch clock and larger bases to encourage more stealing.

The shot clock has been mentioned to help improve pace of play on tour, and the topic has gained momentum in recent weeks when the final round of threesomes has taken about 5 1/2 hours to finish.

Weitz said the tour formed a study group a month ago with three players — Sam Burns, Jhonattan Vegas and Adam Schenk — who likely would pass their findings to the Players Advisory Council, a 16-member panel that has been more involved than ever.

Rangefinders — or distance measuring devices — currently are allowed only at the PGA Championship. The tour is trying to find a spot in the schedule for a test run to see if it helps speed play by getting players the yardages quicker.

Gary Young, the senior vice president of rules and competition, said the sample tests could be at signatures events that have smaller fields, or perhaps a tournament like the Zurich Classic that features team competition.

The potential of disclosing violations would be a break from PGA Tour tradition. The tour is different from most other sports leagues in that it has never disclosed fines, disciplinary action or violations that relate to pace of play. The tour long felt that would be little more than a distraction. What it heard from fans was a need for more transparency.

“I think there's a real moment now for that all to be looked at,” PGA Tour President Tyler Dennis said.

Weitz said the discussion has met with little resistance from players. He had breakfast Wednesday morning with Max Homa and said Homa told him, “We want to hold each other accountable, and we want to play in a way that is the best version of the fan experience.”

Another example to help speed play was the use of a video review center at the new PGA Tour Studios in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

All of the changes came from the “Fan Forward” program, which included a survey that grew out of a fan council started in 2017. An outside agency helped the tour reach 50,000 fans who were surveyed in three waves.

The topics:

— Broadcast enhancement, much of it geared around showing more shots, more meaningful consequences (such as the 36-hole cut) and fewer tap-ins.

— Competition adjustments, which includes the tour studying another change to the format in the Tour Championship. Depending on player feedback, a proposal could go before the policy board as early as March.

“If we can get alignment between one concept, then we’ll do it as early as ’25. If it is, ‘Yes, we love this idea but,’ and there needs more conversation, it’ll have to be ’26 because there will be more to work through,” said Billy Schroeder, senior vice president of competitions.

— Player content and profile. Weitz said for the ages 18-34 demographic, fans were most interested in personality on the course, and then off the course, and lastly competitive performance.

— Fan experience on the golf course, and what golf can learn from other sports in which the entire playing field can't be seen from one spot. Formula One was an example of that.

The tour already has gone through player-driven changes in recent years, such as the $20 million signature events with smaller fields and no cuts, reducing field sizes in 2026 and lowering to 100 players from 125 players in FedEx Cup who keep full cards.

More changes could be on the way, some of them already being studied.

“If the voice of the fans is at the center of what we do, we're on the right path,” Weitz said.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Max Homa hits his tee shot on the 11th hole of the North Course at Torrey Pines during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Max Homa hits his tee shot on the 11th hole of the North Course at Torrey Pines during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Jhonattan Vegas hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Jhonattan Vegas hits out of the bunker on the fourth hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Sam Burns hits from the second tee at La Quinta Country Club Course during the first round of the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Sam Burns hits from the second tee at La Quinta Country Club Course during the first round of the American Express golf tournament in La Quinta, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Harris English walks on the the 18th green on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Harris English walks on the the 18th green on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Harris English celebrates after winning the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

Harris English celebrates after winning the Farmers Insurance Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The U.N. human rights chief accused Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a second major city in eastern Congo of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.

Volker Türk said in a statement Tuesday that his office “confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons.”

He provided no details or did not refer to specific events, but U.N. agencies have previously accused both Congolese government forces and the rebels of recruiting children. The United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this month launched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes and killings akin to “summary executions” committed by both sides since the beginning of the year.

The M23 rebels on Sunday captured Bukavu, the city of 1.3 million people, after seizing Goma, 101 kilometers (63 miles) to the north last month. At least 3,000 were reported killed and thousands displaced in the Goma fighting.

The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congo’s trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that’s critical for much of the world’s technology. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts.

Rwanda accuses Congo of enlisting Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. M23 says it's fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed into a modern state — though critics say it's a pretext for Rwanda's involvement.

Unlike in 2012, when the M23 briefly seized Goma and withdrew after international pressure, analysts have said the rebels this time are eyeing political power.

The decades-long fighting has displaced more than 6 million people in the region, creating the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

A Ugandan military official said Tuesday that Ugandan troops had entered the eastern Congolese city of Bunia to assist the Congolese army in quelling deadly violence by armed ethnic groups.

Red Cross workers clear the area in east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, one day after it was taken by M23 rebels, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

Red Cross workers clear the area in east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, one day after it was taken by M23 rebels, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

M23 rebels enter the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, and take control of the South Kivu province administrative office, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

M23 rebels enter the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, and take control of the South Kivu province administrative office, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

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