Twenty-year-old amateur hit with slow-play penalty at U.S. Women’s Open

The rarest of penalties has been assessed at the U.S. Women’s Open.

Slow play continues to plague the pro game, and the pace at this year’s U.S. Women’s Open has been excruciatingly…painfully…impossibly slow. The USGA finally dished out its first penalty of the week on Saturday, as Andrea Lee, a 20-year-old amateur who plays college golf at Stanford, was slapped with a one-shot penalty for slow play.

“She had a bad time and she was given a warning. She should’ve figured it out,” said David Fay, the former USGA executive director, on the TV broadcast.

Lee is competing in her third U.S. Open, and she was outside the top 50 and struggling when she received word of the penalty. She was five-over for her round when she received the news, and she went on to sign for a seven-over 79.

Social media reaction was swift.

https://twitter.com/NorthVanMike/status/1134933907911000064

Finally a slow play penalty announced for @uswomensopen. 3 hours for 9 holes..that's worse than the foursome that I was playing behind yesterday

— Brian (@brianmk24) June 1, 2019

The USGA just penalized amateur Andrea Lee for slow play!

When will they penalize a professional for this nonsense?

— P.E. (@PEMulroe) June 1, 2019

Amateur Andrea Lee getting emotional after being assessed a penalty for slow play. The last group took 3 hours to play the front nine! Feels like the whole day is in slow motion.

— Beth Ann Nichols (@GolfweekNichols) June 1, 2019

The only people penalized for slow play in professional golf are Amateurs! The @USGA @PGA and @LPGA @LPGACommish are a disgrace! Penalize all not just those who it doesn’t affect financially. #Horrible #SlowPlayRuinsTheGame

— Mc5cent (@baldjoe) June 1, 2019

Not saying the amateur should not have been penalised for slow play. But first reaction is this only highlights The USGA’s cowardice re doing same with the professionals. #justsaying

— John Huggan (@johnhuggan) June 1, 2019

It’s indeed interesting that Lee, who is the second-ranked amateur in the world, was hit with the penalty. Lee of course is not eligible to collect any prize money for her performance this week, so the extra shot on her scorecard won’t affect her wallet. Will a pro be sanctioned this weekend? Watching on television, the pace does not appear to be quickening. We’ll see if the USGA dishes out more penalties before the event is over.