A Strange Slow-Play Situation Unfolded During the Final Round of the U.S. Women’s Open

The eventual champion of the U.S. Women’s Open was nearly penalized for a slow play violation during the final stretch of the tournament.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — During the back nine of Allisen Corpuz’s U.S. Women’s Open victory on Sunday, an unlikely rules situation unfolded involving potential slow play violations in the final pairing. 

The group of Corpuz and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka were first put on the clock on the 11th hole. On No. 13, USGA rules officials gave Corpuz an official warning when she backed off of her approach shot due to a switch in the wind direction. 

Officials told Corpuz, who held a three-shot lead over England’s Charley Hull at that point in the round, that she had received a “bad time” on the shot. Corpuz apparently took more than the allotted 40 seconds. 

One more “bad time” and Corpuz would have been assessed a one-shot penalty. The LPGA typically penalizes slow play by dishing out fines rather than issuing strokes, but at the U.S. Women’s Open, that was never a possibility. 

Corpuz and Hataoka were eventually taken off of the clock on the 14th tee, but according to Corpuz’s caddie, Jay Monahan, the incident was momentarily “concerning,” especially considering the circumstances. 

“We were behind, and I should have known the rule that it’s going to be a stroke penalty beforehand,” Monahan said. “I don’t know if that was in some of our paperwork leading up to the week, because typically we just get fines for slow play. So yeah, it was eye-opening.”

Apparently undaunted, Corpuz went on to make back-to-back birdies after the warning, but the potential for making a rushed mistake was certainly on the table. 

“Was it warranted? Probably, because we were playing a little bit slow, but it’s tough,” Monahan said. “You don’t want that, because we had a one- or two-shot lead at that point. If the wind switches on us again and she’s not ready to hit a shot, you’re going to have to hit it, otherwise all of a sudden your lead is gone. It was a challenge that we didn’t anticipate, but it worked out okay. We finally caught the group and didn’t have to worry about it,” 

“I just told her that I was going to walk out in front of her, I was like ‘Hey, do you need a snack, do you need a water? You can take it with you, I’m going to walk out in front, get the information we need. We’re not going to flirt with a penalty, we’ll make the adjustment, and we’ll be okay.”

Monahan’s accelerated pace certainly helped, but Corpuz revealed after her round that she wasn’t too worried about the possible penalty. She'd been on the clock previously and learned from it.

“Yeah, I've had a few instances in the past where I kind of let that get to me. Obviously not happy about it, but just kind of rushed things a little and didn't hit a good shot," she said. "I told myself, that's just kind of how the course plays sometimes. You have a tough hole, you fall behind. I just told myself that we'd catch up later and just stay calm, just keep doing everything at the same pace."

She also added that slow play is not typically a concern when it comes to her game. 

“I know I'm not a slow player. I think in that particular shot I just backed off because the wind died down. Just told myself, yeah, just keep playing. Don't let your focus get away from that.”