{"id":27840,"date":"2025-04-17T15:19:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/27840\/"},"modified":"2025-04-17T15:19:10","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:19:10","slug":"scottie-scheffler-admits-he-forgot-new-pga-tour-rule-change-ahead-of-2025-rbc-heritage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/27840\/","title":{"rendered":"Scottie Scheffler admits he ‘forgot’ new PGA Tour rule change ahead of 2025 RBC Heritage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scottie Scheffler, the number one-ranked golfer in the world, remains winless in 2025.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scheffler endured a disappointing Masters at Augusta. The two-time champion was short of his exceedingly high standards throughout the competition, and despite rallying to finish fourth on Sunday, never threatened the top of the leaderboard at the climax of the action.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He has an opportunity to get his 2025 on the right track this week, as he tees off in the RBC Heritage as the reigning champion. <\/p>\n

But he may want to re-read the rule book before beginning his opening round. Scheffler was caught off guard in a recent interview when asked about a new rule introduced for the tournament.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Michael Reaves\/Getty ImagesScottie Scheffler reacts to new PGA Tour rule for RBC Heritage<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new rule allows rangefinders into the RBC Heritage. They hope that by introducing the measuring devices into competition, they can improve the pace of play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The PGA Tour has come under scrutiny surrounding slow play in their competitions. However, not only does Scheffler not believe the rule change will make marked improvements to the speed of rounds, he also forgot about the new rule altogether.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to like this answer, but I kind of forgot about that,\u201d he laughed when asked about the use of rangefinders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it going to help the pace of play? Maybe by a few minutes. Will it be anything significant? No. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn this tournament what significantly affects the pace of play is the walkability of the golf course, and I think we\u2019re playing twosomes all week which means we\u2019ll be going from playing five hour rounds to four hours or less. <\/p>\n

MORE SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER STORIES<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see the biggest changes in pace of play, it all comes from going from three guys to two guys in a pairing. It\u2019s just easier to get around the golf course.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, the distance walking from green to tee is a big factor as well if you\u2019re going to save 15 to 20 minutes off the round. This golf course is pretty simple in terms of getting around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Range finders will be allowed on the PGA Tour for the first time this week, and Scottie Scheffler totally forgot about that. \ud83e\udd23<\/p>\n

The world No. 1 shared up his thoughts on pace of play fixes, and what he likes to focus on instead. pic.twitter.com\/zYwH4Rtdgp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

View Tweet<\/p>\n

Scheffler, when later asked what would make the biggest impact on pace of play, had his own suggestion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the only way to have a significant impact on the pace of play, if you look at the average round time last week, Thursday and Friday you\u2019re playing in threes, Saturday and Sunday you\u2019re playing in twos. There\u2019s going to be a significant difference, probably over an hour difference in pace of play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it seems that Scheffler forgot about the rule change because he doesn\u2019t think it matters. He went on to discuss why he believes the pace of play conversation is irrelevant to the wellbeing of golf. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe pace of play debate is funny. I think people want to watch exciting golf \u2013 I think that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. Let\u2019s say if we do all these changes and we save 20 minutes off of a round of golf. Is somebody going to sit down on the couch on Sunday and go, well, I didn\u2019t have five hours to watch a round of golf, but I\u2019ve got four hours and 40 minutes. Now I\u2019m in!<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to spend a lot of this time and energy, I\u2019d want to spend it on getting more people involved in the sport of golf.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Collin Morikawa has already spoken on rangefinders<\/strong><\/p>\n

Collin Morikawa weighed in on the rangefinder debate back in February before the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, and found himself largely in agreement with Scheffler.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps more from the fact when you\u2019re out of position,\u201d stated Morikawa, a six-time PGA Tour winner. \u201cLike, not really in the fairways, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to change anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the end solution to changing our pace of play from if you had five hours and 20 minutes to four and a half hours, right? It\u2019s not going to shave 45 minutes off our time for pace of play. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know a lot of people complained when we were or when the Tour was here a few weeks ago how slow it was, but when you have a course in front of you that is that difficult and the winds are up and the conditions are that tough, it\u2019s just going to play slower, like there\u2019s no way around it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI get it, guys are slower than others and sometimes it takes too long, but tough conditions make it play slower no matter what. It\u2019s going to happen that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PhotoPhoto by Harry How\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Andy Weitz, the PGA Tour\u2019s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, explained the Tour\u2019s decision to trial rangefinders at the RBC Heritage in February. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to better understand how being out of position, how the ability to better understand the distance can not only increase the pace of play potentially but also send a signal to our fans that we are evolving and use of these modern devices could be a fit for the PGA Tour on a permanent basis in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n

But perhaps, by putting so much thought into how they can improve the pace of play, they would be better off thinking whether they should.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy\u2019s grand slam-winning<\/a> Masters round took around five hours to complete. There were no widespread complaints about the speed of the round and pace of play. <\/p>\n

Instead, people were hooked onto every second, the anticipation of forthcoming shots only fuelling the excitement and anxiety of the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Admittedly, that was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. We witnessed history that day. But this point remains valid: if viewers are captivated, there will not be complaints about the time it takes to complete a round.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In that sense, it is difficult to disagree with Scheffler. The game would benefit not from rangefinders, but from compelling storylines, competitive tournaments and high-class golf.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n