K. Club, Ireland … New Masters champion Danny Willett believes the PGA Tour needs to act on curbing slow play.

Willett has returned to to tee-up in this week’s Irish Open at the K. Club and the first reigning Augusta National winner to compete since 1994 when Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal had won the first of two Masters.

Masters champ Danny Willett says the PGA Tour needs to act on slow play.

However, after taking nearly six hours to play last Saturday’s third round in the Players Championship the Englishman says tournament tortoises should be identified.

The last player in the U.S. singled out for slow play was bizarrely 14-year old Guan Tianlang, who was docked a shot on day two of the 2013 Masters, and also became the very first player slapped with any stroke-play penalty ever in the Masters.

And Willett’s call comes on the same day as the St. Andrews-based R & A launched a ‘Pace of Play’ manual.

“Potentially they (PGA Tour) need to nail down how long it takes you to play your shot,” said Wilett.

“We don’t want to play a six-hour round but sometimes you’re playing for a lot of money, World Ranking points and there’s a lot on the line.

“To take an extra 15, 20 seconds over a shot could be the difference between picking up a shot or losing a shot.

“It is worthwhile taking a fine or a penalty or whatever it is?  I don’t know as it’s a tricky one.”

However, Ireland’s Shane Lowry didn’t mince his words seemingly singling out World No. 1 Jason Day to be among the slowest.

Indeed, SKY Sports Wayne Riley, remarked during last Saturday’s broadcast from Ponte Vedre, Florida his fellow Australian is being known now as ‘All Day’.

Lowry played the third round of last week’s Players Championship alongside the eventual TPC Sawgrass winner, and a round that took six hours while a day later he played alongside fellow Irishman Graeme McDowell and the pair took four hours.

“I got an email from the PGA Tour saying I’ve had timed five times this year on the Tour but that’s not a reflection of me,” he said.

“It’s a reflection of the players I am playing with.  It took us (Lowry and Day) nearly six hours to play our round on Saturday, and it then took us four hours to play on Sunday.

“The only thing they can do is start penalising them shots as players don’t care about fines.”

And Lowry laid some of the blame on PGA Tour rules officials and in contrast to the efforts of European Tour rules officials who are more ‘hands on’.

“The PGA Tour referees are not as intimidating as the European referees,” said Lowry.

“When you see John Paramor or Andy McFee coming along, you know you want to speed up, and you know they will be hard on you.

“And that’s what I like about the European Tour; they are a lot harder than they are over in America. The referees, they do their job well over here.”