Jordan Spieth first victim of new Euro Tour slow-play 'policy with merit'

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A slow-play warning issued to Jordan Spieth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship last week was a strong first step in the European Tour’s new effort to combat the scourge of slow play, Ewan Murray of the Guardian writes. "On the basis it was rightly criticised time and again for doing nothing to prevent slow play, which verged on the unwatchable at times, it is nonsense to castigate them again now. Spieth was unfortunate to be caught in the early crossfire but this is a policy with merit. Good on the Tour for implementing it.”

Arron Oberholser is a Bay Area native seemingly with a long and fruitful career ahead of when he won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in 2006. “That win was supposed to be a steppingstone for me,” Oberholser said in this profile of Oberholser by Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle. “I never thought it would be the end.” Oberholser now is Golf Channel analyst.

Paul Casey, an Englishman who lives in the U.S., said he would not join the European Tour this year, thus would not be eligible to play on the Euro Ryder Cup team. That said, captain Darren Clarke hasn’t given up, James Corrigan of the Telegraph writes. “Casey has until May 1 to submit his forms, although only points he accrues after that would count towards the qualification. Nevertheless, Clarke – who expressed his ‘disappointment’ at Casey’s original decision – would consider him for a wild card. ‘We would welcome him with open arms,’ Clarke told The Daily Telegraph. ‘Would I love to have to him on the team? Of course. He’s world class.’”