NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Klara Spilkova was assessed a two-stroke penalty for slow play in the second round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The 25-year-old Czech player received the penalty at the conclusion of the 15th hole at Aronimink Golf Club.
Spilkova carded a 3-over 73 and missed the cut by one shot, finishing at 7 over par. The 2016 Olympian last made a cut on the LPGA in August at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.
Two-stroke penalties are rare when it comes to slow play in professional golf. The LPGA doubled the price of its fines in 2020. Last year, seven pace-of-play fines were given out and one two-stroke penalty. (That’s in addition to the one-stroke penalty LPGA rookie Andrea Lee received last year at the U.S. Women’s Open. Lee was an amateur then.)
KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Leaderboard
Early in the week there was concern about the field of 132 players finishing the first two rounds before daylight. When play was suspended due to darkness on Thursday, only one group was left on the course. The entire field finished play in the second round and 75 players made the cut.
Anna Nordqvist, who trails leader Sei Young Kim by one stroke, played in the group directly behind Spilkova.
“It’s hard to play fast I feel like out here just because of all the slopes on the greens and the winds,” said Nordqvist, “and if you’re just a little bit off you’re going to leave yourself in tough spots. I feel like we waited probably a little bit more yesterday. Today we got told that the groups ahead were a little bit slow.”
