By William Jempty of OTB Sports

"Either he's dead or my watch has stopped."

Having passed to his eternal reward in 1977, Groucho Marx was not paired with any of the pros at the Stanford International Pro-Am. So it only seemed like eternity out there on the course today. With many of the celebrity amateurs doing their own impersonations of Marx's "Dr. Hackenbush", play went from slow to downright glacial here in South Florida. Suffice to say, its been no day at the races in Aventura with the pile ups on the course more reminiscent of a Mack Sennett film than a Marx Brothers comedy.

After yesterday's six hour rounds and boiling sun, perhaps we can have some sympathy for the slow play of the amateurs today, some of whom seem to have gotten more than they bargained for at the Stanford International. I walked just nine hole yesterday, never swung a club and left the course totally exhausted.

The amateurs are not the only ones struggling with an unfamiliar course. This is the first time since the 1980's that the LPGA has played here in Aventura only adding to the slow pace of play. Everyone here has taken note of the pace and LPGA players, amateurs, and tournament organizers are all working hard to play faster and put on a great event. Saturday promises a more orderly event.

I went out on the Miller course for a bit this morning. The difficult par three second was already causing backups at the tee box. When I arrived on the scene, six professional players plus their amateur partners were waiting for the green to clear. Players and spectators alike were serenaded by a steady chorus of jackhammers pounding away at a nearby construction site.

The wind gusts were quite strong at times, making the 2nd hole even more difficult. One entire group was unable to put a single ball on the green in regulation. Meena Lee easily hit the best approach shot while I was there. The two-winner LPGA winner from South Korea hit her tee shot to less than ten feet. The difficult conditions meant the first two holes took almost an hour to play for some groups.

As groups cleared the second hole, the pace began to pick up. Brittany Lincicome’s group played the Miller front nine in just under three hours.Still when you add it up, that means it will again take most groups a little under six hours to complete 18 holes.

An hour after the noon day sun has passed overhead, Young ‘The Hat Lady’ Kim and Annika Sorenstam were tied for the lead.