Donegan Follow Up On Drugs and Golf

Lawrence Donegan wrote this sidebar to go with his main piece on drug testing. In it he points out golf's love affair with its honor code, and yet its unwillingness to ensure that the integrity of the game is preserved.

For a sport that prides itself on being a bastion of honesty there is a glaring anomaly in golf's much-vaunted code of ethics. A player who deliberately moves a ball in the rough to improve a lie can be banned and will almost certainly be ostracised by his or her peers. Yet that same player can take a performance-enhancing drug such as human growth hormone and he or she will never face sanction or be exposed.

Almost uniquely in elite sport the vast majority of golf competitors are never tested and that will continue if some of the game's leading figures have their way. "We see no reason to jump into the testing arena without having any credible information that we have issues," Tim Finchem, commissioner of the PGA Tour, told the Guardian this year. Ernie Els was offended that testing might be necessary - "We are all natural!" - while Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A, was dismissive when it was suggested the Open would be the perfect arena to get into line with the rest of the sporting world. "There is no particular evidence of drugs helping you in golf, and there is no particular evidence of anyone taking them," he said.

And...

But the French federation's Muniesa argues that the reluctance to start reflects an arrogance. "Laws against drug abuse must be written into the rules of the game. Players are penalised when they hit a ball out of bounds, and it should be the same when they use performance-enhancing drugs."

If golf can pat itself for handling the "inexorable" (David Fay's word) movement to address gender reassigned athletes so that the sport is in compliance with IOC rules, why doesn't performance enhancing drug testing share a similar inexorable fate?

Ogilvy On Hoylake Turf Conditions: "this is as fiery as any golf course I've ever seen"

From Chris Lines writing for The Advertiser:

"It's about as different as you can get (from the U.S. courses)," Ogilvy said.

"It's a lot firmer, it's probably the firmest links course we've played in a long time.

"This is as fiery as any golf course I've ever seen - it's going to be fun."

Thanks to reader Chris for the heads up on this Norman Dabell story, featuring another fun Ogilvy quote:

 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy echoed Woods's sentiments: "You'd never see a course as firm as this in the States. Their idea of firm is no mud on a ball running five yards."

Ogilvy suggested that only one third of the field of 156 would have any experience of this week's conditions.
 

H.S. Colt Dream 18

(click on image to enlarge)SI has given me the okay to reproduce the Golf Plus "Dream 18s" for your limited viewing pleasure here.

(Limited, because my copying and scanning and resizing skills aren't very good).
(click image to enlarge)

And trust me when I say that Gil Hanse's maps look better in print, but you get the idea here with his H.S. Colt style drawing.

For SI subscribers, the full text is available online. 

Hoylake Images

Golfonline has posted some nice Fred Vuich aerial shots of the 1st, 2nd and 18th holes.

What Would You Rather See?

Super fast, crunchy, brown...or sort of fast, sort of green, with fairways surrounded by dense rough?

I ask because I love what I'm seeing in the early photos out of Hoylake. We haven't seen the world's best play something this dry in a long, long time.

But if the scores are super low, will this taint the concept of "lean" conditions?

Donegan: Testing Soon?

Lawrence Donegan in The Guardian:

The Royal & Ancient came under increasing pressure yesterday to start testing competitors for drugs at the Open Championship amid mounting evidence that abuse of illegal substances among golfers is more prevalent than the governing body has been prepared to concede.

Documents from the French Golf Federation, which has been testing elite players for the past five years, produced 21 positive results from among 157 players - a failure rate of more than 13%. Among the drugs identified by the testers were cocaine, ecstasy and sambutamol, an asthma drug which taken in high doses can increase an athlete's endurance.

"We were shocked by these results," said Christophe Muniesa, the head of the French federation. "These tests revealed drug taking that seemed to be more of a consumer habit than any widespread attempt to cheat." He called on the R&A to promote golf's so-called clean image by introducing drug testing at the Open. "We do it at the Olympics Games and at the World Cup, so why do we not do it at the most important golf tournament in the world? If we have drug testing then people will know that golf is a clean sport."

The introduction of testing at major championships such as the Open also received backing from Dr Conor O'Brien, the former chairman of the Irish Anti-Doping Agency and a member of Wada. He said: "Anyone who cares about golf should support such a move, not least because testing would mean replacing suspicion and innuendo with fact."

O'Brien added: "Golf has changed into a power sport in recent years and it has become more clear why someone would use drugs. Getting the ball 320 yards down the fairway as opposed to 280 yards would be a big advantage.

"All the evidence shows there are drugs in every other sport, it would be foolish to think golf was not contaminated by the same disease."

Huh, go figure. And it all could be prevented if...eh, you know where I'm headed with that. 

Donegan also lists various drugs and what they might do to help a golfer.

Open Championship Tuesday Reads

The Golf Digest blog gets off to a promising start, offering some information when major blogs are most handy--early in the week. When the GD writers finish their early week rounds, perhaps we'll get a few insights into how the course is playing. Some pictures and range gossip would be nice too. I know, asking a lot here.

Gary Van Sickle posts his odds while Doug Ferguson talks to Nick Faldo about his pairing with Tiger and reminds us that Tiger is not a fan of those who question his swing changes.

Ferguson also has an entertaining chat with Brad Faxon, who admirably made the trek despite being the 6th alternate.

And Alistair Tait hints at what a trusted soul predicted to me many months ago: Hoylake is going to be vulnerable to very low scores.  Tait says not enough length was added and that the current setup and weather points to a birdiefest. Several other stories covered the same ground, but Tait's is the best.

Coffin On ShopRite

Golfweek's Jay Coffin on the ShopRite situation, which is making Tim Finchem's handling of Washington D.C. look graceful.

"The ShopRite folks have not signed a contract with the LPGA since 2001," Bivens said. "We wanted them to have the same date, and while we were negotiating with several other tournaments their date was not in play. Then, after their tournament was over, we had no indication they were going to re-sign. That's when the ShopRite date was pulled into play. We are hoping we can work something out."

ShopRite's last LPGA contract did expire in 2001, but that's the LPGA's fault, Harrison said. He contends that the event has been more than willing to sign on the dotted line for the past five years but the tour has constantly dragged its feet in expediting the process. Besides, in 21 years the ShopRite has given more than $12 million in charitable donations, with more than $1.8 going to charity last year, the highest of any LPGA event. Harrison believes those statistics entitle him to better communication from LPGA brass.

"For somebody who says they care about the LPGA, (threatening a lawsuit) is not consistent," Bivens said. "We've retained a terrific law firm, (which) has reviewed this. We wouldn't be putting the LPGA at risk if we weren't sure we have the right to do this."

Whether, or how, the situation is resolved will not diminish Harrison's distaste for Bivens.

"She has no integrity," he said. "None. And if the (LPGA) board (of directors) doesn't do something soon, the whole tour will have no integrity."

The Lost Statements of Henry Hughes

Last week we featured a mistaken Michelle Wie press release from the PGA Tour that went out by accident to members of the media. Well my sources in Ponte Vedra have unearthed two more Henry Hughes statements that never were emailed to writers.

“The PGA TOUR congratulates Phil Mickelson on his historic accomplishment of winning his third straight major at Winged Foot, becoming the first to do so since Tiger Woods in 2000. His quality of play over the final round is a testament to the level of performance and individual achievement found on TOUR. The PGA TOUR wishes him well in his attempt to win a fourth straight major at the British Open.”

And this one is a bit dated, but an understandable mistake:

"The PGA TOUR congratulates Thomas Dewey on his election as President of the United States. His quality campaign overcame Harry Truman's negative advertising and is a testament to the level of performance and individual achievement that is found every week in America, especially on the PGA TOUR."

Defending Gove

Jeff Gove is bound to take some heat for his Michelle Wie comments following their first and second round pairing at the John Deere, where Wie became ill and played a half hole behind before finally withdrawing.

Mark Lamport-Stokes writes (in a story titled "Wie debate hots up after John Deere withdrawal"):

 "She didn't complain about anything," Gove told the Chicago Sun-Times. "She just said: 'I'm going to withdraw', which was good. She was holding us up again.

 "She has to learn to play faster and be more respectful of other players and things of that nature. If she has her name on her bag, she needs to be professional, and she's not there yet."

Gove's views are somewhat harsh given that Wie had been struggling with stomach pain, dizziness, nausea and breathing problems before she decided to quit the tournament after consulting a doctor.

Having played with Jeff for three years at Pepperdine and knowing that he is one of the kindest, most patient souls on the planet (he put up with me after all), I suspect there is more here beyond what we saw on television (which should have been stopped sooner by Wie's parents).

I'm guessing Wie still has a few things to learn about the various subtle but important elements of etiquette that Tour players take pretty (too?) seriously. Either way, I find it hard to believe Gove would have made his comments without there having been some unacceptable incidents. 

MacDuff's Post John Deere FedEx Cup Points

Will he or won't he? That's the big question as the simulated FedEx Cup plays out before next year's playoffs actually commence. Who is he? Why it's none other than David Duval, currently 140th in MacDuff's version, 154th on the Tour's list.

The excitement is almost too much to take.

On a serious note, look at some of the names around 70th. Wouldn't it be more interesting to see if some of those players have to play a bit more to try and make the "playoffs?"

Okay, I'm reaching. But as always, I'm just trying to find the silver lining here!

^{1    Mickelson    22546.5        15
2    Singh    21859.37        16
3    Furyk    21312.5        14
4    Gf. Ogilvy    18487.5        12
5    Pettersson    18383.33        16
6    Glover    17241.66        13
7    Cink    17146.33        14
8    Immelman    17112.5        12
9    Weir    16659.37        14
10    Appleby    16437.5        13
11    Donald    16339.37        11
12    Z.Johnson    16250        14
13    Toms    16196.87        11
14    Van Pelt    15940        17
15    A.Scott    15725        11
16    C.Campbell    15587.5        13
17    Pampling    15535        14
18    Pernice    15525        12
19    Bohn    15388.33        15
20    Mayfair    15329.16        16
21    B. Quigley    15075        12
22    Senden    15062.5        13
23    Oberholser    14637.5        13
24    Verplank    14087.5        12
25    Gay    14037.5        14
26    Funk    14025        15
27    T.Clark    14010        13
28    Olazabal    13862.5        10
29    Sabbatini    13754.16        12
30    Vn Taylor    13162.5        12
31    Choi    13125        13
32    Goosen    12937.5        10
33    Chopra    12933.07        14
34    J.Ogilvie    12921.78        13
35    Jerry Kelly    12600        11
36    T.Woods    12584.37        7
37    Hoffman    12575        14
38    Harrington    12450        10
39    Purdy    12375        12
40    Slocum    12062.5        13
41    Love III    12050        12
42    Villegas    12037.5        13
43    Flesch    12030.71        17
44    Ames    12012.5        9
45    D.Wilson    11825        13
46    N.Green    11740        14
47    Imada    11667.5        13
48    JJ Henry    11662.5        10
49    Crane    11585        12
50    Watney    11535.71        13
51    Warren    11387.5        13
52    Allenby    11262.5        10
53    Herron    11247.5        12
54    Sluman    11200        15
55    Els    11140        11
56    Lehman    11075        11
57    Rose    10891.66        13
58    Austin    10862.5        15
59    Leonard    10820.83        12
60    Stricker    10800        9
61    Parnevik    10767.5        12
62    S. Maruyama    10550        11
63    Palmer    10504.16        12
64    Wetterich    10425        9
65    RS Johnson    10305        10
66    Bryant    10257        10
67    Poulter    10062.5        10
68    Curtis    9762.5        12
69    Maggert    9700        10
70    Branshaw    9695.83        11
71    F.Jacobson    9675        10
72    JB Holmes    9658.33        10
73    D. Howell    9587.5        8
74    Sean O'Hair    9537        12
75    Azinger    9450        12
76    Bertsch    9431.25        13
77    Jobe    9392.5        11
78    Kenny Perry    9375        11
79    Br.Davis    9342.5        11
80    Barlow    9325        12
81    Beem    9318.75        11
82    Lonard    9298.21        12
83    Howell III    9187.5        14
84    Hart    9167.5        10
85    Garcia    9112.5        8
86    Waldorf    9087.5        11
87    Micheel    9075        10
88    Lowery    9062.5        11
89    Estes    8925        10
90    Dickerson    8778.57        11
91    Rollins    8725        10
92    Leaney    8712.5        9
93    G. Owen    8662.5        9
94    Goggin    8600.25        7
95    Gore    8503.57        8
96    Andrade    8482.5        10
97    Couples    8437.5        10
98    Sutherland    8387.5        12
99    Baird    8242.5        8
100    B. Haas    8237.5        10
101    J.Smith    8237.5        11
102    Pavin    8200        8
103    Mahan    8187.5        12
104    Gove    8175        8
105    Bub Watson    8125        8
106    Franco    8112.5        9
107    Gronberg    7962.5        10
108    DiMarco    7959.37        9
109    Kaye    7900        11
110    Olin Browne    7812.5        13
111    Sindelar    7787.5        12
112    Bjornstad    7742.5        11
113    Cook    7700        8
114    Calcavecchia    7617.5        14
115    Geiberger    7481.25        11
116    Overton    7341.07        12
117    Fischer    7325        10
118    Triplett    7208.33        9
119    D. Maruyama    7141.07        10
120    Faxon    7125        10
121    O'Hern    7100        5
122    Langer    7079.16        9
123    Lickliter II    7050        9
124    Baddeley    6962.5        8
125    JL Lewis    6937.5        11
126    M.Wilson    6902.5        8
127    J.Byrd    6862.5        5
128    Barron    6606.25        9
129    Armour III    6425        8
130    Pat Perez    6350        8
131    Kent Jones    6312.5        9
132    Durant    6281.25        13
133    S.Jones    6280        11
134    Cabrera    6162.5        6
135    Allen    6050        9
136    K. Cox    6037.5        6
137    Gamez    5962.5        10
138    Atwal    5837.5        7
139    Ridings    5737.5        10
140    David Duval    5550        8
141    Garrigus    5505        9
142    Ws Short Jr    5462.5        11
143    Frazar    5375        8
144    D.Clarke    5275        5}

In With Ginn

You'll be shocked, SHOCKED to find out that IMG was involved in the LPGA ShopRite Classic getting set aside for the "Ginn Tribute Hosted By Annika Sorenstam."

The press release:

<sup>GINN SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT TO STAGE ONE OF RICHEST LPGA TOUR EVENTS WITH $2.6 MILLION GINN TRIBUTE HOSTED BY ANNIKA SORENSTAM IN CHARLESTON, S.C.

ARNOLD PALMER DESIGNED RIVERTOWNE COUNTRY CLUB COURSE TO HOST WORLD'S GREATEST FEMALE PLAYERS MAY 31-JUNE 3

MT. PLEASANT, S.C., July 17, 2006 - Ginn Sports Entertainment LLC announced today that Ginn Clubs & Resorts will sponsor and stage its second LPGA tournament-- the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam at the Arnold Palmer designed RiverTowne Country Club Course at the Belvidere Resort, May 31-June 3, 2007.  The announcement was made today by Ginn Clubs & Resorts President Bobby Ginn and LPGA Commissioner Carolyn F. Bivens.

Ginn also announced that the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam will be run and operated exclusively by IMG and televised nationally by NBC Sports.

The 72-hole event will also focus on a tribute to an LPGA great each year.  The player will be honored and saluted in ceremonies during tournament week.

The addition of this $2.6 million event brings the fast growing Ginn Clubs & Resorts portfolio to four professional golf events-two on the LPGA Tour and two on the Champions Tour.  Ginn Clubs & Resorts hosted the LPGA's Ginn Open in Reunion, FL earlier this year and two Champions Tour events have recently been announced for 2007-the Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach set to be played March 26-April 1 with a $2.5 million purse and the Ace Group Classic Champions Tour event in mid-February of 2007 which will be hosted at Ginn's Quail West community and golf courses in Naples, FL.

"It is unbelievable how fast we are growing," said Bobby Ginn, President and CEO of Ginn Clubs & Resorts.  "I certainly didn't think we'd be where we are this fast with four professional events for our rapidly developing golf resort and real estate communities.  "We had an unbelievable first venture with the LPGA in Reunion and we'll stage another fantastic event in Charleston.  To have Annika Sorenstam, the world's greatest female player as our host makes this tournament even more special."

"I am thrilled and excited to host this prestigious inaugural event," said Annika Sorenstam.  "I have a great relationship with Bobby Ginn and Ginn Clubs and Resorts and this tournament further highlights the direction that we are taking together."

"We are very excited to once again team up with Bobby Ginn and the Ginn Company for the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika Sorenstam, which will debut in 2007," said Carolyn Bivens, LPGA commissioner.  "Ginn's initial event with us, the 2006 Ginn Clubs & Resorts Open in Orlando, was world-class from the start. I am confident that this will be repeated at the inaugural event in Charleston where players will experience exceptional hospitality and a fabulous course and fans will be treated to great competition by the best players in the world."

The Arnold Palmer designed course at RiverTowne Country Club that will test the skills of the greatest women players in the world was named the 2004 South Carolina Course of the Year by the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association.  The 18-hole par 72 layout measures 6,679 yards from the medal tees.

Sixteen golf courses have either been constructed or are in development and Ginn's course architects are a Who's Who in the world of golf-Hall of Famers Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, Tom Watson and Tom Kite all have either designed or are designing courses on Ginn's resort properties.

The Ginn Company commissioned golf legend Arnold Palmer to develop Charleston's first Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course.  The 18-hole championship course includes 13 holes that wind along the Wando River and Horlbeck Creek.  The five sets of tees on this 7,200-yard venue provide spectacular challenges that are meant to deliver a memorable golfing experience to every player of the game.  RiverTowne Country Club received a 4.5 star rating in Golf Digest's Place to Play in 2005 and it was the South Carolina Course of the Year in 2004.</sup>

Shopping The ShopRite's Date

Michael McGarry on the LPGA's decision to give the ShopRite Classic's date away:

A South Carolina news conference today could escalate a feud between the ShopRite LPGA Classic and the LPGA.

The LPGA is expected to announce a new golf tournament at RiverTowne Country Club in Mount Pleasant, S.C., during the news conference.

Classic General Chairman Larry Harrison said Sunday night the LPGA wants the South Carolina tournament to be played the first weekend of June — the weekend the ShopRite Classic has been held the past two years.

Harrison said the Classic would sue the LPGA if its dates were given away.

“I feel like somebody punched us in the stomach,” Harrison said. “We were talking to them about a contract, and they were negotiating behind our backs with someone else. That didn't sit well with me.”

And just in case you weren't sure how ugly this was going to get:

Classic officials have had their differences with past LPGA commissioners and that is not unusual. Most LPGA tournaments at some time in their history have a dispute about dates with the LPGA. But this feud is above and beyond anything that has happened previously.

Harrison wants Bivens out as commissioner.

“It's mind boggling,” Harrison said, “why the LPGA board just doesn't cut its losses.”

More Criticism Of Western Change

Paul Azinger talking to Len Ziehm:

"The Western Open, are you kidding me?'' Azinger said during last week's John Deere Classic. "Some guys, like Sam Snead, have it as a major championship on their resumes.

"But the tour's not loyal to anybody. Players have no input at all, but what can we do? We can't be a union. We've just got to accept what they do. The players will make a little more money, but there's not a lot of loyalty in big-time sports now.''

Phil Kosin in Chicagoland Golf had this to say in a July issue:

How can the PGA Tour claim Chicago golf spectators will be better off if the tournament formerly known as the Western Open is rotated out of town every other year?

“We really don’t look at it as abandoning Chicago,” said PGA Tour chief financial officer Tom Wade. “We look at it as really upgrading and bringing a top-level world-class event to Chicago. I think it’s fair to say that the whole restructure of the PGA Tour with the FedEx Cup competition culminating in the new PGA Tour playoffs is the most important change we’ve ever made on the PGA Tour. We have big, big expectations and big plans for this.”

What a crock. I’m offended because the PGA Tour actually expects Chicago golf fans to buy this manure.

Why is the PGA Tour abandoning the nation’s third-largest market, golf-crazy Chicago, to take the event to smaller markets like St. Louis, Minneapolis and Indianapolis?
First, the Tour is still seeking a site in the Twin Cities area. We announced on our radio show two weeks ago that Hazeltine, which had been floated around as the third out-of-town site, had already told the Tour “Thanks, but no thanks.”

Maybe St. Louis and Indianapolis are golf-starved markets eagerly waiting to be tapped. But I remember vividly last September, while in Indy covering the Solheim Cup (the women’s version of the Ryder Cup) that the town’s big daily, the Indianapolis Star, did not even mention the event on its front page. Or in the first section of the paper. That’s a commitment to golf?

R&A Bites Back

David Hill, the R&A's director of championships, on Ron Whitten's Golf Digest critique of Hoylake:

"It would have been nice if he had played the course. We would then have had more respect for the comments he made," said Hill.

"I think the week of the championship will tell if his comments were inaccurate or accurate.

"We would not have come back if we didn't think it was of the highest standard. It's in first-class condition and the top-class players coming here will enjoy it.

"Obviously, we're hoping for the variation in the weather that is the main protection of all links courses and what makes them such great challenges."

And Hill's defence of Hoylake was seconded by BBC golf commentator and former leading player Ken Brown.

"Nearly all traditional links courses are old-fashioned. That's not derogatory in my mind, it's traditional - how golf should be played," said Brown.

"It's an unsung, wonderful links course."

You may recall it was Brown who confronted Tom Fazio at Augusta this year about the changes made there.