Viral Golfer at Augusta National Women's Amateur Addresses Criticism of Her Incredibly Slow Play

On Wednesday, a video of Bailey Shoemaker standing over a shot at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur created a firestorm.

The USC junior was shown taking nearly 75 seconds to hit a shot, as slow play continues to be one of the sport’s hottest topics.

Shoemaker, however, addressed the controversy to Golf.com, explaining the reasoning behind her glacial pace of play.

“I’ve been battling injury for over a year now, and so, I mean, I’ve got some things bugging me,” said Shoemaker, who would miss the ANWA cut by three strokes. “But, I mean, when you have nerve surgery, you aren’t in control. Like, it doesn’t matter what my brain says or does—you think I want to do it intentionally? Of course not.”

“This is part of her routine”
I would have already been on the green waiting before she pulled the trigger. pic.twitter.com/U7txlQZQRP
— themechanic (@mensgrill69) April 1, 2026

Detailed by GolfChannel.com, Shoemaker had surgery last October for cubital tunnel syndrome in her right arm, after playing through “excruciating pain” and numbness for nearly seven months. The pain was so extreme that it caused her fingers to come off the club at the top of her backswing.

The 21-year-old claims she’s fully healthy now, but the injury has taken a mental toll, delaying her pre-shot routine. Her coach, Justin Silverstein, said pre-injury, she was one of the quickest players he’s coached.

And Shoemaker feels that one clip, which has over 2 million views, is an unfair representation of her.

“It was better today. And, I mean, that was the worst one yesterday, of course, it went viral,” she said. “And I mean, you clearly don’t see the rest of the round. You don’t see me at home working out five hours a day, going to rehab, waking up before practice to go to rehab. You don’t see what’s behind the scenes.”

It’s a far cry from where she was last year.

“I know I keep saying it, and I sound like a broken record, but like a year ago, I didn’t know if I’d be playing golf anymore,” she said. “This was like, a pretty substantial injury, given it was my nerve. And I’m happy to have motor function over my hand.

“I thought I was going to, like, lose my hand, basically. “So that’s pretty scary to think about. So, I mean, to have control over my body is nice, for once. And just being out here playing is good.”

Golfweek reported that Shoemaker called her coach to see if the video on social media could be taken down. But after the dust settled, she tried to use it as motivation.

“If anything it was fuel,” she said. “I mean, my dad has trained me right, to use that as fuel to ignite me a little bit. But I didn’t play too much mind to it. I’m happy where I am, and I’m making leaps and bounds in my health, and that’s all I really care about.”