'Painful' And 'The Opposite Of Entertainment' - Fans React To Bradley Slow Play

Keegan Bradley had a shocker in his first Group 11 round-robin match at the WGC-Match Play.

Up against Jordan Spieth at Austin Country Club, Bradley faced a six-foot putt (generously!), which he dwelled on for what seemed like an age. The American stepped studiously from his ball to the green and back, legs slightly apart. Then, not yet satisfied with his reading of the putt, he took a couple of glances at the hole from behind the ball before finally preparing his putt. It's probably predictable what happened next. However, if you’d like to see for yourself, you can, here:

Reaction from fans was hardly supportive of the American's miss. One described the incident as the "opposite of entertainment", while another called it "painful." Bradley is one of several players who have used the AimPoint method, including Adam Scott and Justin Rose. 

The method involves getting a feel for the slope of the green as a percentage from one to five by standing between the ball and the hole. Next, you stand behind the ball and measure the tilt amount using the fingers of your hand. The slope percentage is the number of fingers you hold up, with the index finger pointed just outside the hole on the right. Finally, you putt to the AimPoint - the direction of the finger corresponding to your percentage.

Of course, it all works well enough in theory, but in Bradley’s case, not only did his putt miss, but he took an inordinate amount of time to do so. In recent months, slow play has been a bone of contention at various points. It held up play in January’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Then, the following month, Brooks Koepka was forced to wait regularly during his third round of The Honda Classic by playing partner Brian Stuard’s slow play.

While Bradley’s putting method both let him down and resulted in slow play, it clearly wasn’t enough to put Spieth off – the World No.15 finished two up to win the match.