PGA boss in denial over steroid policy, By: Ron Kroichick
September 7, 2006
Seven weeks ago, in Hoylake, England, the chief executive of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club announced plans for random drug testing at next month's World Amateur Team Championship in South Africa. Peter Dawson said he didn't suspect a problem with performance-enhancing drugs in golf, but he called the upcoming testing a "rehearsal," because the R&A is "anxious to keep the sport free" of illegal substances.
It was a rational, reasonable move.
Two weeks ago, in Akron, Ohio, the commissioner of the PGA Tour essentially declared the sport free of performance-enhancing drugs. Tim Finchem made this pronouncement while also saying the tour has nothing in its bylaws specifically prohibiting such drugs and does not plan to initiate testing until Finchem finds some evidence of wrongdoing.
It was a sad, smug display.
Golf finds itself in a captivating stretch: Tiger Woods has reasserted his dynamic presence with five consecutive victories and the Ryder Cup, often a stirring event, will unfold later this month in Ireland. But Finchem's insistence on not even adopting a policy on performance-enhancing drugs only perpetuates the game's image as elitist and stuffy, somehow above it all.
Finchem said "you can't ignore" what has happened in other sports, but his stance suggests he's doing exactly that. Baseball is awash in tainted home-run hitters over the past decade, the NFL might strengthen its testing program in the wake of the Carolina steroids scandal, track and field is littered with fallen stars and the winner of the Tour de France, cycling's premier race, tested positive.
Why are we to assume golf is immune? Power matters more than ever in this era of 7,500-yard courses and thick rough. Woods has helped drive this year's total prize money to $256.8 million. The temptation and motivation are in place; why not testing?
"I have no evidence of players taking steroids in this sport," Finchem said. "What I do have is a firm belief that when our players understand the rules, they follow the rules."
The lessons of BALCO are drifting right past Finchem's office in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. If you've paid any attention at all in the three years since federal agents raided that non-descript office in Burlingame, you know this much:
Many, many athletes use performance-enhancing drugs.
Those athletes come from a wide variety of sports.
Fame and wealth are powerful lures.
It is telling that Finchem increasingly finds himself alone in his position. He made his public comments shortly after Greg Norman harshly criticized the tour in the Australian press. Norman said the tour needs a stipulation forbidding performance-enhancing drugs, because there have been rumors for more than 20 years of improper drug use, including beta blockers to calm the nerves.
As for Finchem's history of dismissing the issue, Norman said bluntly, "That's a bunch of (bull -- ), as far as I'm concerned. Don't stick your head in the sand. Step up to the plate."
Then, the day after Finchem spoke, Woods diplomatically sided with Norman. Woods previously had said he didn't imagine PGA Tour players used steroids or other drugs, but there was no way to know without testing -- exactly the cogent point Finchem seems to miss.
This time, Woods said starting a testing program "tomorrow would be fine by me. I think we should be proactive instead of reactive. ... I just think we should be ahead of it and keep our sport as pure as can be."
U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy suggested there are probably golfers "taking something," because they think it will help them play better and there's a lot of money at stake. Or, put another way: It's human nature, and golfers are human (well, other than Woods).
This is a tangly and complicated subject, the kind Finchem prefers to avoid. That might have worked before BALCO injected reality into the world of sports. But not now.
Annika in Danville: The LPGA will return to the Bay Area on Sept. 21, as the Longs Drugs Challenge makes its debut in Danville after a long run in the Sacramento area. The top 10 players on this year's official money list are tentatively committed to play in the event at Blackhawk Country Club's Lakeside course.
The good news for tournament officials and local fans: That includes Annika Sorenstam, the world's No. 1 player. Sorenstam had been unsure if she would enter the event, but her agent, Mark Steinberg, said in an e-mail Wednesday that Sorenstam plans to play.
"If that's the case, this will be the best field in the 11-year history of the event," tournament director Brian Flajole said.
The field also will include Lorena Ochoa (who tops the money list), Paula Creamer, Juli Inkster and Pat Hurst.
