Viral video exposes Masters ‘villain’

The eight-time winner on the PGA Tour was widely criticised for his slow pace during the final round at Augusta on Monday morning (AEDT) as he played in the second-to-last group with Viktor Hovland.Watch every round of the PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive on Fox Sports, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >Sitting in the group right behind him was eventual Masters winner Joh Rahm and golf hothead Brooks Koekpa, who’s well known to prefer a brisk round of golf.“The group in front of us was brutally slow. Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting,” Koepka said.Cantlay has since responded to the drama, laying the blame on the group in front of him for holding up everyone behind them.“I mean, we finished the first hole and the group in front of us was on the second tee when we walked up to the second tee,” Cantlay said.“We waited all day on pretty much every shot. We waited in 15 fairway, we waited in 18 fairway. I imagine it was slow for everyone.”However the 31-year-old might just have been exposed by a viral video showing him taking 42 seconds to take his shot, even after lining it up and getting into position.The video shared by Barstool Sports and captioned “do we need a pitch clock in golf” and “Patrick Cantlay needs to be stopped” has been retweeted more than 200 times and includes hundreds of comments in support of the idea.And while many golf fans were getting excited at the prospect of a shot clock speeding up rounds of professional golf, few realised that the PGA Tour already has limits in place to speed up play.According to PGA.org, players are only allowed 40 seconds to complete their stroke.“A player will be allowed a maximum of 40 seconds to complete his/her stroke,” the current PGA rules state.“NOTE: An additional 10 seconds will be allowed for a) the first to play from the teeing ground on a par 3 hole; b) the first to play a second stroke on a par 4 or par 5 hole; c) the first to play a third stroke on a par 5 hole; or d) the first to play on or around the putting green. ” However it’s unclear how tightly enforced that rule is.Cantlay, who is the No. 4 player in the world, stumbled to a final round 75 that dropped him from contention into a tie for 14th at the Masters.He also attempted to blame the Augusta course for his slow play when discussing the issue on Wednesday.“When you play a golf course like Augusta National where all the hole locations are on lots of slope and the greens are really fast, it’s going to take longer and longer to hole out,” Cantlay said.“I think that may have been what attributed to some of the slow play on Sunday, and then also when the wind is gusting and the wind is blowing maybe inconsistently, that’s when guys will take a long time, too. “I think it’s just the nature of playing professional golf, where every shot matters so much.”The internet, though, appeared to disagree.Claire Rogers of Golf.com screengrabbed the comments under a Cantlay Instagram post — and there seemed to be a certain consensus.And some evidence seems to suggest that Koepka was not alone in his frustration, as video showed Hovland chipping on the 13th green as Cantlay was still walking up the fairway.The PGA Tour has been plagued by slow play all season, frequently running out of daylight in the first two rounds.All eyes will be on Cantlay in the coming weeks to see what role he is playing with the issue.- With the New York Post Via news.com.au — Australia’s leading news site https://www.news.com.au