Ryder Cup players warned about slow play

New rules on slow play have been introduced for the Ryder Cup - and the two teams are being warned of the consequences.

New rules on slow play have been introduced for the Ryder Cup - and the two teams are being warned of the consequences.

"The regulations brought in will be strictly enforced," said chief referee John Paramor.

"There's now a time limit of 60 seconds on every shot and if a player has three bad times it will mean loss of hole. We're not looking to penalise players, but I think we all know that there are some who play at different paces.

"What we hope is that they will all play at a pace that is reasonable. We've allowed approximately four hours for the singles, four hours 15 minutes for the foursomes and just over five hours for fourballs."

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American captain Ben Crenshaw made accusations of deliberate slow play at the last match in Boston three years ago - accusations vigorously denied by the European camp - and Phil Mickelson was so angry at one point he decided to do something that left nobody in any doubt about his feelings.

Partnering Tom Lehman in the second day fourballs against Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke, Mickelson went to the next tee and drove off before the European pair, having stayed on the previous green as they were allowed to do then, were even present.

On their appointment as captains, Sam Torrance and Curtis Strange agreed that practice putting should be banned in a bid to speed things up and hopefully avoid a repeat of that incident.

There will be an instant loss-of-hole penalty for anyone breaking that rule - but officials following each match will be expected to step in and prevent it happening if they see anybody preparing to putt again after a hole is completed.

Of the European team, Padraig Harrington and Bernhard Langer have reputations for being slower than most, but Harrington was happy to joke about it when Crenshaw made his comments in his autobiography published six months after the match in Boston.

"Playing slowly deliberately was not mentioned at any team meeting I was at," he said. "But maybe they didn't think I needed to be told!"

Another matter for the referees will be any excessive encitement of the crowd by players.

Torrance's predecessor Mark James wanted that to become a loss-of-hole offence after watching the way some Americans behaved on the last day at Brookline. He thought it contributed greatly to the hostile atmosphere Europe had to contend with as the match reached its controversial climax.

That rule has not been brought in, but Paramor commented: "If referees see something they think might be an etiquette problem they should draw my attention to it and I will probably speak to the captains."