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Drug testing announced for PGA, other tours

St. Augustine, FL (Sports Network) - Six major golf organizations, as well as the leaders of Augusta National Golf Club, have agreed in principle to an anti-doping policy for professional golf on a global basis.

The six organizations, or signatories, include the European Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, the PGA of America, the PGA Tour, the R & A for the British Open and the USGA for the U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open. The PGA Tour policies will cover the PGA, Nationwide and Champions Tours.

The agreement will be completed in two phases. The first phase, which is finished, included a development of the Model Prohibited Substance and Methods List.

This model will be incorporated into the respective tournament regulations of the signatories of the policy starting in 2008. Player education is underway and will increase by all the tours going forward.

The second phase of the policy, which should be completed by the end of the year, included general standards of the fundamental elements of the anti- doping program that provides flexibility for the tours to develop specific policies and procedures for their respective organization.

Those standards will include the Model Prohibited Substance and Methods List, medical waiver procedures, testing protocols, results management, penalties, sanctions and reciprocity of outcomes.

The banned substances and methods list includes - Anabolic Agents, Hormones and Related Substances, Agents with Anti-Estrogenic Activity, Diuretics and Other Masking Agents, Stimulants, Narcotics, Cannabinoids, Beta Blockers, Enhancement of Oxygen Transfer and Chemical and Physical Manipulation.

Other substances that may be prohibited at the option of the golf organization include Glucocorticosteroids and Beta-2-Agonists.

Along with the above signatories, the following tours have also agreed to become signatories on the policy - the Asian Tour, the Australasian Tour, the Canadian Tour, the Japan Professional Golf Tour, the Sunshine Tour and the Tour de Las Americas.

The World Golf Foundation will create an Anti-doping office that will coordinate and share information with golf organizations with respect to medical waiver procedures and therapeutic use exemptions.

The signatories, or individual tours, will control disciplinary procedures and penalties for violations. Those penalties are to be shared with the other signatories for consistency and coordination purposes.

Testing protocols will be at the discretion of the individual tours and will be developed and approved by each organization on an individual basis.

It is anticipated that the signatories of the policy will begin their testing programs in 2008.

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