Drug Testing From A to Z

The dawn of a new era in golf seems destined to get off to a faltering start after it emerged today the R&A will delay the expected introduction of drug testing at this year’s Open Championship – a move that leave the sport’s governing body out of step with the game’s two biggest tours.

Both the European Tour and the PGA Tour in the United States will begin drug testing players at the start of July, three weeks before the Open starts at Birkdale. It had been widely assumed the R&A would seize the opportunity to make its flagship event the first major championship in history to test players, not least because the organization’s chief executive, Peter Dawson, has long said that once the major tours had introduced drug testing the R&A would follow suite.

The issue of drugs in golf received widespread coverage during last year’s Open at Carnoustie, when the former champion Gary Player claimed he knew for certain that leading players were using performance-enhancing drugs. “The greatest thing that the R&A, the USGA and the PGA can do is have tests at random. It’s absolutely essential that we do that. We’re dreaming if we think it’s not going to come into golf,” the South African said.

Resonding to Player’s comments, Mr Dawson said he supported the introduction testing in a “quick but measured fashion”.

The R&A’s chief executive is due to address the subject of drugs at Birkdale tomorrow, when it is believed he will cite the failure of the Asian and South African tours to introduces testing before 2009 as a reason for not testing at Birkdale. A number of players from these smaller tours have already qualified to play at Birkdale and, according to sources, will not have undergone the same educational programs as players from Europe and the United States.

Nevertheless, the R&A has a “no drugs” clause in the Open Championship entry form and its failure to follow that up with a testing regime will be interpreted in some quarters as failure of leadership on an issue that threatens to undermine golf’s alleged reputation for “sporting integrity”.

It could also have an impact on golf’s hopes of gaining admission to the Olympics. Sports seeking to get on to the Olympic program will get their next opportunity to apply at the IOC’s congress in Copenhagen in October 2009. By then, any failure to have drug testing in place at major championships like the Open will finish the prospect of golf at the Olympics for the foreseeable future.