PGA of America Unveils Drug Testing Strategy: Local Knowledge: Golf Digest

PGA of America Unveils Drug Testing Strategy

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Comments

Professional golf moved a step closer to the unanimity on drug testing it will need if next year's bid to become part of the 2016 Olympic Games is to be successful Wednesday when the PGA of America said it will follow the testing protocol adopted by the World Golf Foundation at this year's PGA Championship and Ryder Cup. At a meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., on Monday the WGF discussed a strategic plan for a preliminary presentation it is going to make to the International Olympic Committee May 26 at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

In its announcement Wednesday, the PGA said it has adopted the PGA Tour's Substance and Methods List, calling it the Prohibited Substance List, and will use it as a condition of competition for the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills GC and that it will be incorporated into the Captain's Agreement for the Ryder Cup. The PGA Tour and the European Tour plan to begin drug testing in July. The LPGA Tour began in February but it has had only one test, which the tour said after the fact was a trial run and then changed agencies running the testing program.

The most significant holdout on testing is the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which said last month it was delaying its planned drug testing at this year's British Open until next year. "We played a leading role in the development of a policy of which we are very proud," said the R&A's chief executive, Peter Dawson. "But it is very important that players understand what it is about and given that quite a number of players do not play on the PGA or European Tours we decided that it will not start at the Open this year." The British paper The Guardian said Dawson was concerned that the Asian Tour and the Sunshine Tour in Africa were not totally in line with the policies of the other tours. Dawson said testing will begin at next year's championship.

Proponents of efforts to get golf into the Olympics, which most everyone associated with the game feels would be the most significant grow-the-game initiative ever, point to three factors as reasons they are optimistic this bid will be successful: 1) With the PGA Tour now on board the IOC will feel there is no obstacle to prevent the best players in the world from participating; 2) The emergence of world-class players from traditionally non-golf countries like Mexico and India will make it easier to sell golf to the IOC; and 3) Bringing drug testing in line with the other sports will be absolutely necessary to get the game in the Olympics.

-- Ron Sirak

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Archived Comments (2) Click to expand

Unlike many others I definitely believe that both Drug Testing and making a strong pitch for Golf in the Olympics have to be top most on the minds of the powers that be in the game of Golf. While it is one thing to include Golf in the Olympics it is a whole different issue to ensure that top players come out and represent their country at the Olympics.

http://www.golfswingsecretsrevealed.com/blog/2008/04/17/golf-officials-bid-for-olympic-spot/

It is just one of those sports that needs to use the Olympics as a platform to spread it’s wings. How successful it would be, I cannot say but I do believe that it would do a lot of good for the sport in terms of an image makeover. Golf has always had this elitist tag associated with it and till Tiger Woods came along the fact of the matter is that the players have hardly been considered athletes. Somehow I feel that Golf being a part of the Olympics where players compete against each other without them being as seen for big money might just help the games cause.

As for Drug Testing, if the players have nothing to hide, then they have nothing to fear!

Posted by andybrown May 24, 2008 12:48 AM

Sources from within the IOC have indicated that the IOC thought that the leaders in the world of Golf were not strongly enough committed to the compulsory doping control at ALL Olympic Sport Events. This issue is been addressed by PGA and european tour leaders by making tentative steps towards doping control at Golf tournaments. If Golf is to stand a chance to become an Olympic Games Sport again, it knows it has softball and baseball as major competitors. Hopefully it will also meet IOC's expectations on Drugs control on time as well, as it would appear this has been the biggest reason why the IOC has been reluctant to allow Golf back as an Olympic Sport Event in the last 25 years.
Source: http://www.makegolfolympic.com

Posted by losbol June 26, 2008 4:20 AM