British Open Notes: Players' steroid comments draw derision
July 20, 2007
CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Gary Player's comments on the use of performance-enhancing drugs by professional golfers were not particularly well-received yesterday, particularly by two of his South African countrymen playing in the British Open.
Player had said one golfer he declined to identify told him he had used steroids and another had confirmed it. He also estimated that at least 10 golfers on tours around the world were using drugs to improve their play, though he also said that was mostly a guess on his part.
"I'm actually very shocked at his comments," said Retief Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open winner. "I don't know what Gary was trying to prove, saying what he said. I don't know why he said that. I don't know if he is trying to damage the sport. If people start taking drugs out there, if we want to confirm that, let's do drug-testing. He can't come and say, 'I know of 10 guys taking drugs' and he can't say what it is, so he might as well not have said anything.
"If he wants to make those comments, why doesn't he name them? I've seen loads of Advils flying around for back pain, but I have not seen anything else. I think that's probably the least talked-about subject on the tour."
Three-time major winner Ernie Els said he was surprised to read Player's remarks.
"I know I'm not (using drugs)," Els said. "If he knows it, he knows something I don't. There is a list of substances they ban. I take Advil for pains and discomfort and anti-inflammatories and something for my knee when it gets damp. And I take Guinness."
STAR IS BORN: The kid from Holywood sure looks like a star. Of course, Rory McIlroy looks like he got into the British Open with one of those tickets that allows juniors through the gates for free if they're with an adult.
Whatever the case, the baby-faced teen from Northern Ireland — who claims to be all of 18 but could pass for even younger — beat up on most of the grown-ups yesterday while shooting the only bogey-free opening round at Carnoustie.
Justifiably proud of his 3-under-par 68, McIlroy pondered the improbable: For one night, at least, he'd go to bed with a one-stroke edge on Tiger Woods, the two-time defending Open champion and the youngster's No. 1 role model. "I think he'll be able to sleep all right," McIlroy said. "But, yeah, it's a pretty special feeling to say you shot one better than Tiger."
Woods wasn't the only one looking up to McIlroy after 18 holes. He bested his playing partners, seasoned pros Henrik Stenson and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Only two — leader Sergio Garcia at 65 and Paul McGinley with a 67 — went lower than the lad from Hollywood.
That would be Holywood, Northern Ireland, a town of 12,000 near Belfast that shares a pronunciation with America's movie capital, though hardly the glamour.
Asked if his hometown has produced anyone else of note, McIlroy said: "I think the guy who invented the cat's eyes in the road was from Hollywood," he said.
