Bummer: Venturi Not Well Enough To Make HOF Induction

Ed Sherman talks to Jim Nantz, who will be inducting Ken Venturi into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday without his former sidekick able to make the journey due to health issues.

Nantz said the acceptance speech will be “very spare” in the hope that Venturi can return in 2014 and speak on his own behalf.

“We’re going to tell people that we want Ken to be making this talk,” Nantz said. “We were thinking if he didn’t make it to the Hall of Fame, it would crush him. He would have a hard time recovering. But once he hears he has a chance to come back in ’14 and give that speech, he’ll be OK. God willing, he’ll be there.”

Eger: Not Likely To Pick Up The Phone Again

In case you were still unclear on the completely harmless effort by David Eger to save Tiger from a 2013 Masters DQ for signing an incorrect card and the questionable response to Eger's call from Masters championship chair Fred Ridley in responding to assistance from an outside agency of Eger's stature, check out this Golf Central interview with Eger.

It won't be up long, but the key quotes are:

"I wouldn't have called if I wasn't 100 percent certain."

"First time I've ever called."

"With the outcome, I probably wouldn't call again."

Not From The Onion Files: "12-year-old Ye Wo-cheng fails to impress on debut"

Nice catch by PaddyPower to Tweet this ESPN UK headline on 12-year-old Ye Wo-cheng's 79 in the Volvo China Open:

Ryan Herrington wrote about Wo-cheng's debut as well as the entries of a 15 and 16-year-old in the same event.

Pac 12 Championship: Cal Men Win 10th Tournament!

Cal held off UCLA to win the 2013 Pac 12 Championship by nine strokes. The win unofficially ties them with the 1985-86 Oklahoma State squad for most victories in a season by a college golf team, with two events to go.

Cal Senior Max Homa's 9-under 271 held off teammate and U.S. Amateur runner-up Michael Weaver by five strokes. After the round, host club Los Angeles Country Club presented Homa with a framed lithograph that included a plaque commemorating his opening round and course record 61.

A few images from the day:

Players: Quail Hollow Greens Victim Of 24/7 Media

It's the media conjuring up a story, say a few players quoted by Jason Sobel on the eve of the Wells Fargo Championship opening round.

“You know, in the age that you guys [in the media] have to talk about something 24 hours a day,” Joe Ogilvie explained, “you’ve got to come up with something.”

“Once the tournament starts, I think all of that stuff will stop and it will be about the tournament, about the shots and the scoring,” said Mickelson. “We’ll see what’s made this tournament great in the past and it won’t be an issue. But I think leading up it will be the talk, because we haven’t had the actual action to discuss yet.”

“One thing I’ve realized is that there’s always a new story,” Trevor Immelman added. “There’s a new story every week. Just when you think you’re going to be able to latch onto something and wear it out for a few months, something else happens. It’s amazing to me. I think it’s just one of those things that we work through and next week there will be another story.”

We'll see what the boys say after they've posted their first round scores!

Juding by this image from Jeff Sisner of the Charlotte Observer from his pro-am slideshow, this is more than just a story whipped up by the 24/7 press.

UCLA Closing In On Cal As L.A. North Bites Back

Thanks to some stellar play under difficult conditions, the lucky few taking in round three of the Pac 12 Mens Golf Championships were treated to some fantastic golf. While the scores didn't quite match the incredible opening day scoring, the precision play inspired by U.S. Open greens (almost 14 on the Stimp, extremely firm) and George Thomas and Billy Bell's architecture revealed the level of talent in the Pac 12.

I'll leave the summary to the Pac 12's website where you can also see scores and a photo gallery. Also, Golfstat has the individual and team leaderboards.

Instead, a few random observations from L.A. North prior to final round play.

-- I spent most of the morning watching Stanford's Patrick Rodgers and the afternoon following Cal's Max Homa, UCLA's Jonathan Garrick and Washington's Chris Williams. All impressed with their swings, attitudes, precision and short game while playing the course intelligently...other than the painful sight of their repeated rangefinder use.

--Ahhh yes, the rangefinder. What a waste of information on a course with firm greens where yardages to the flagstick mean so little. Which is probably why players still check sprinklers, yardage books or simply walk the numbers off if they are within 80 yards of the green. Speed up play?  Rangefinders, they do not.

-- The aforementioned players and many others I saw from various Pac 12 schools are placing the ball in unfathomable locations off the tee. That would be my nice way of saying they hit the ball absurd distances. The next time I hear the governing bodies insist driving distances have peaked, I now have photographs of young lads in fairway landing areas so far beyond what hazards that even they might have a hard time justifying their decade long indifference to the obvious. Peter Dawson recently said on anchoring, better late than never!

--UCLA trails by two strokes. UCLA's Pontus Widegren was penalized two shots in a second round 75 for just barely missing his afternoon tee time after he was changing to the prescribed second round UCLA team shirt. Because the first round was running long, Widegren only had a few minutes to change.

I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to post round 4 observations and photos, so here's a big gallery from the first two days:

Vijay Acquitted, Share Your Resounding Joy Here

I'm out watching PAC 12 golf but I know you need an outlet to express your joy at the heartwarming news of Vijay's acquittal on admitting to having purchased a banned substance.

Update on 2013-04-30 22:50 by Geoff

**John Strege explains the decision.

And the statement...

PGA TOUR Statement Regarding Vijay Singh

The PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Program, which has been in effect since July 2008, closely follows the International Anti-Doping Standard set forth by the World Anti-Doping Agency (“WADA”) particularly as it relates to the interpretation and application of the List of Prohibited Substances and Methods.

In a January 28, 2013 article that appeared on SI.com, Vijay Singh was quoted as admitting to his use of a deer antler spray supplement.  Subsequently, Mr. Singh confirmed his use of deer antler spray in a statement he issued.  Deer antler spray contains IGF-1, a growth factor listed on both the WADA and PGA TOUR Prohibited Lists, which the TOUR warned players about in August 2011.  After the SI.com article came out, WADA also issued a warning about deer antler spray on February 5, 2013.

There is no test for IGF-1 currently available in routine blood testing.   However, the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Policy provides that an admission to the use of a prohibited substance is a violation of the policy even if there is no positive drug test.  After confirming the presence of IGF-1 in the deer antler spray product provided to the TOUR by Mr. Singh through tests at the WADA-approved UCLA laboratory, the TOUR proceeded with the matter as a violation of the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Policy, and a sanction was issued.   Mr. Singh subsequently appealed the sanction under the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Program guidelines.  During the appeal process, PGA TOUR counsel contacted WADA to confirm a number of technical points.  At that time, WADA clarified that it no longer considers the use of deer antler spray to be prohibited unless a positive test results.  Indeed, on April 30, WADA subsequently provided written confirmation to the TOUR that:

“In relation to your pending IGF-1 matter, it is the position of WADA, in applying the Prohibited List, that the use of "deer antler spray" (which is known to contain small amounts of IGF-I) is not considered prohibited.

On the other hand it should be known that Deer Antler Spray contains small amounts of IGF-1 that may affect anti-doping tests.

Players should be warned that in the case of a positive test for IGF-1 or hGH, it would be considered an Adverse Analytical Finding.”

Based on this new information, and given WADA’s lead role in interpreting the Prohibited List, the TOUR deemed it only fair to no longer treat Mr. Singh’s use of deer antler spray as a violation of the TOUR’s anti-doping program.

Since his initial quote was made public, Mr. Singh has cooperated with the TOUR investigation and has been completely forthcoming and honest.  While there was no reason to believe that Mr. Singh knowingly took a prohibited substance, the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Program clearly states that players are responsible for use of a prohibited substance regardless of intent.   In this regard, Mr. Singh should have contacted the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Program Administrator or other resources readily available to players in order to verify that the product Mr. Singh was about to utilize did not contain any prohibited substances, especially in light of the warning issued in August 2011 in relation to deer antler spray.

Going forward, the PGA TOUR is committed to increasing its educational initiatives to remind players of the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Program and the risk of utilizing any product without a full understanding of the ingredients contained in that product. Such educational initiatives will include reinforcing with its members the many resources available to them on a 24/7 basis to respond to any questions they may have concerning any product.

The PGA TOUR recognizes that the science of anti-doping is an ever evolving subject, and the TOUR will continue to work with its consultants and WADA to stay abreast of all current developments in this area. This will include staying abreast of developing policies and procedures, specifically with regard to testing for growth hormone and IGF-1.  When fully implemented tests for those substances become available in routine blood testing, the TOUR will continue to monitor the situation and make changes to the policy as necessary or appropriate.