The pace of play is having a moment. Following the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, golf fans watched two very different stories play out: Ryan Fox cruised to a Claret Jug win with a pace that left commentators impressed, while other groups on Thursday and Friday battled rounds stretching past five and a half hours. That contrast pushed the pace of play back into headlines, with players like Jon Rahm publicly weighing in on how tours should handle warnings and enforcement around slow rounds.