Written by:
John Dell
September 24, 2007
Jeff Sluman, all 5-7 and 140 pounds of him, was asked about drug testing that could become a reality in 2008.
“Well look at me, obviously I’m doing it,” Sluman joked about steroids.
It’s no laughing matter to Tim Finchem, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, who is expecting to unveil a comprehensive drug policy as early as next season.
Sluman, who made his Champions Tour debut earlier at the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn, is one of those pros who says that the testing is something that’s necessary to prove to the public that the sport is clean.
“Unfortunately, that’s just the way of the world now,” Sluman said. “I could digress into hours of long conversation on that subject. That’s just the way it is, and if that’s what we have to do to prove that we are clean, then so be it.”
In late August, Finchem said that a plan would be in place that would cover all three tours, the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour.
For the Champions Tour players, many of whom used to rule the PGA Tour when they were younger, the thought of drug testing is laughable.
Curtis Strange, a Fall of Famer, doesn’t believe that drug testing is needed.
“I don’t think it’s necessary at all,” Strange said. “But I think it’s probably good that we follow suit with the other sports. I think the first time they ask me to pee in a bottle I’m not going to be afraid to tell them where to go.”
Strange said that one of the things that the tour has to be worried about is making sure that the testing is done right. Ruining a player’s reputation is something that Strange is concerned about.
“But with this drug testing or testing for performance-enhancing drugs I think they better get this right,” Strange said. “We’re not talking about Tim Finchem’s reputation; we’re talking about a player’s reputation.”
Earlier in August, at the British Open, Gary Player made plenty of statements on the subject of performance-enhancing drugs in golf.
“I know for a fact that there are golfers, whether it’s HGH (human growth hormone), creatine or steroids, that are doing it,” Player said. “The greatest thing that the R&A, the USGA and the PGA can do is have tests at random. We’re dreaming if we think it’s not going to come into golf.”
Strange said that Player’s statements were out of line, but it also wouldn’t surprise Strange if somebody was taking something that’s illegal.
“It’s probably good that they will test, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they caught somebody trying to get better,” Strange said. “It’s the way of the world, quite frankly.”
Larry Nelson, another respected veteran of the Champions Tour, got right to the point when the subject came up.
“I think it’s a joke,” Nelson said.
Nelson went on to say that the game has always been about honesty when it comes to rules on the course.
“We call penalties on ourselves and we police ourselves and that’s what golf is all about,” Nelson said. “It’s been a gentleman’s game for years and years and years. So I think it’s just a slap in the face to everything that golf stands for.
“Why call a penalty on yourself if you are going to go out there and take something to make you play better.”
Last week, the leading golf organizations from around the world lent their support to the development of a global anti-doping policy, which will be subject to approval by all of their governing boards. Among the organizations behind the policy are the PGA Tour, Augusta National Golf Club, European Tour, LPGA, PGA of America and the USGA.
Sluman said that it’s important that the policy is the same for all three tours (PGA, Champions and Nationwide).
“I think all the tours have the standard type of policy,” Sluman said. “You can’t have one that says this is OK and this one isn’t so as long as it’s uniform.”
Scott Hoch, who is a mainstay on the Champions Tour, joked that after his wrist surgery he would have taken HGH if it would have helped him recover. “But my doctor told me it wouldn’t help,” he said.
Hoch doesn’t feel that drug testing is necessary.
“I don’t think anything is really going to come out of it,” Hoch said. “I think out here on the senior tour they are going to find there’s a lot more mixture of alcohol and blood here than most athletes they test in all other sports.”
Hoch said that there are other concerns more pressing than drug testing the players.
“I think they need to worry more about the advancements in equipment than the other stuff,” Hoch said.
Strange said that many of the Champions Tour players have talked about the drug testing, and it’s a serious issue.
“I would be shocked if that player was a good player,” Strange said about the possibility of someone getting caught. “I really don’t see how one can play golf being hyped up and on something.”
Strange knows of some Champions Tour players who are on beta blockers, which helps in treating abnormal heart rhythms.
“There are medications that are out there, these banned substances,” Strange said. “I know everybody talks about beta blockers. I know of a couple of guys on the senior tour that have to take them medically. Can you get a doctor’s excuse or what? They just better get it right.”
Woods’ best season?
Tiger Woods just might have had his best season as a pro, which has to be a scary thought for the rest of the PGA Tour.
When he put the finishing touches on his seventh victory of the season at the Tour Championship, he finished a stretch that was as good as his 1999-2000 run.
Woods won his 61st career tournament and wound up winning four of his final five tournaments of the season. During that stretch he was 75 under, with a scoring average of 66.65.
Woods, 31, needs one win to tie Arnold Palmer for third on the all-time wins list. Sam Snead’s record 82 wins used to be viewed as untouchable but Woods is closing in on that record as well. After passing Palmer he will go after Ben Hogan’s 64 wins and then Jack Nicklaus’ 73 victories.
One reason that many are saying that this past season is as good as 2000 was that his adjusted scoring average dropped to 67.79, which matches his best as a pro that also came in 2000, the year he won three majors.
For Woods to pass Snead’s record, he needs to average five wins each of the next five years.
Around the green
Josh Nichols of Kernersville shot 77-69 to win the boys 16-18 division at the National Junior Golf Club’s National Championship earlier this month at Sea Trails Resort. Finishing second was Winston-Salem’s Kevin Veach, who shot 74-74. The two players had a similar battle earlier this year at the Forsyth Junior when Nichols finished fourth and Veach was second….
Curt Sanders of Wilmington shot 67-70-72 to win the Carolinas PGA Section Professional Championship at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C. He was two shots better than Simon McGreal of Greensboro and Kelly Mitchum of Southern Pines. Also finishing in the top 10 was Jerry Haas, the golf coach at Wake Forest, who tied for seventh. John Faidley, the head pro at Forsyth Country Club, tied for 12th.
