The Tour had warned players not to use deer antler spray because it contains IGF-1, which could trigger a positive test in the Tour's anti-doping program. And, according to the Tour's statement earlier this week, the Tour tried to discipline Singh, but he appealed the sanctions. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) then advised the Tour that it had removed deer antler spray from the banned list, exonerating Singh.
“I’ve got nothing against Vijay –- he’s done a lot; he’s a Hall of Famer – but
you just don’t come out and admit that you used a banned substance, then Mr.
Finchem and the Tour don’t punish him for it,” Tommy Gainey said Wednesday. "I’ve got a problem with that as a
player. Because now it’s on the banned substance list, so there’s no gray area.
Either he did or he didn’t. He admitted he did, but he got no punishment. I just
think it’s going to open the door for a lot of bad things to happen.”
Even players who refused to come down so hard on the ruling didn't exactly sound thrilled with it.
“They decided it wasn’t banned, so it is what it is,” Gary Woodland said. “There’s nothing we can do about it. It’s
good for Vijay and we’ll move on. It’s a tough one. Some guys aren’t happy about
it and some don’t care. He won his appeal and we have to move on from
there.”
“If they say it’s right, if they say it’s legal, then it’s legal,” Bubba Watson added. “I stand by the PGA Tour. If I had a
decision that went that way, I’d have to stand by it. The law is the law. There
are laws we have to follow even though we may not like it."
Photo: Vijay Singh at the 2013 Tampa Bay Championship (AP).
Vijay Singh finished T50 last week at the Pebble Beach Pro-AM (Harry How/Getty Images).
Brandt Snedeker has been the revelation of 2013, but many observers are stunned that Vijay Singh is even playing at all.
An investigative report in the Feb. 4 issue of Sports Illustrated detailed Singh's use of deer antler spray, which contains the banned substance IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor). Singh admitted to taking it in a statement released Jan. 30 and withdrew from that week's Waste Management Phoenix Open, citing an injured back. Alas, he returned quickly to Pebble Beach last week, where he tied for 50th.
Now what? The Hall of Fame golfer is said to have met with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem at Pebble Beach, and Alex Miceli of Golfweek gives a detailed account of where Singh goes from here. He has several options, including contesting whether he ever really benefited from the spray at all.
Even if the deer-antler spray does contain IGF-1, at least one expert said the
banned substance could not enter Singh’s bloodstream and/or metabolize to
provide any benefit.
Dr. Roberto Salvatori, a hormone expert at Johns Hopkins Hospital in
Baltimore, said oral delivery of IGF-1 by a spray could not be effective and
would be digested and destroyed by the enzymes in Singh’s saliva.
“IGF-1 is a rather large protein, and there is really no way it can be
absorbed in the body by just applying on the tongue or even ingesting it,”
Salvatori said on a recent Sirius/XM broadcast this month. “And the only way
that IGF would be present there, could be effective, would be to inject it.”
Singh did not admit to injecting the spray, which was designed to be sprayed
into the mouth.
“I believe it's much ado about nothing,” Salvatori said.
Even if Salvatori is proven right, Miceli says, Singh could face a suspension and/or fine. That's because his situation has provided a public relations headache for Finchem and the Tour.
If Singh were to be exonerated under the Anti-Doping Program and IGF-1 is not
an ingredient of the deer-antler spray, Finchem nonetheless could use his
authority to impose a minor sanction and cite "conduct unbecoming a PGA Tour
professional."
The public nature of any violation and the negative media coverage could be
enough for Finchem to discipline Singh.
1. "It was just so friggin' slow. We played just over three hours and nine holes, and three of them are par threes. It's like, come on, you know. I started losing my patience a little bit."
2. “I ate at the golf course with my wife and my son, the guy drove us to the private airport, took off at 1:10, flew to the Phoenix airport, got in my car, drove home, unpacked kind of, like chucked my suitcases in the closet, sat down, turned the TV on and Tiger is on 17. And I was like, ‘Wow, is he pissed right now.’”
Vijay Singh's former trainer said that Singh shouldn't be tainted by his admitted use of a deer antler spray that contains a substance banned by the PGA Tour.
“I’m not going to just sit back and watch Vijay’s career
get tarnished,” said Joey Diovisalvi, who worked with Singh for seven years and
is now working with, among others, Keegan Bradley. “It’s
completely approved over-the-counter; you and I can go buy it. But here’s where
it gets tricky: Just because we can go buy it doesn’t mean it’s approved for
golf. Vijay Singh is the real deal; I would think that he trusted somebody when
he shouldn’t have.”
According to Sports Illustrated, Singh has been using a banned deer antler spray that contains IGF-1, a "natural, anabolic hormone that stimulates muscle growth." In a written statement released Wednesday, Singh admitted using the spray, but said "at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA Tour anti-doping policy."
Singh,
49, has battled a bad back and other injuries in recent years, and hasn’t hid
from his use of the deer antler spray, which he bought from a two-man company
called Sports With Alternatives to Steroids (S.W.A.T.) He was quoted in the SI
story as saying he uses it “every couple of hours.”
According
to the SI story, the Tour told Champions tour pro Mark Calcavecchia to stop
using deer antler spray in 2011. Trainer
Diovisalvi says three-time major winner Singh’s candor about using the banned
substance proves he didn’t know he was doing anything wrong.
“If
you and I robbed a bank,” Diovisalvi said, “would we tell everybody we did it?
I hope that Vijay gets in front of the media and says, ‘Yeah, I’m working with
this stuff and I hope it helps me, and I didn’t know it was on the banned list.’
Ignorance is innocence. Are we going to go back and question Vijay’s entire
career? Are we going to start questioning Tiger again? With the whole Lance
Armstrong thing going on, this is the absolute last thing we need in golf.”
Singh
is scheduled to play in this week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Among other ramifications, Singh's admitted use of a banned substance shines a light on the Tour's drug-testing program, which tests urine but not blood. Human growth hormone cannot be detected without a blood test. Golf is set to make its return as an Olympic sport in 2016.
Vijay Singh said in a written statement Wednesday that he used a deer antler spray reputed to help stimulate muscle growth, but that he was shocked that the spray may have contained a substance banned by the PGA Tour.
In light of the recent article on sportsillustrated.com, I want to issue the following statement:
While I have used deer antler spray, at no time was I aware that it may contain a substance that is banned under the PGA TOUR Anti-Doping Policy. In fact, when I first received the product, I reviewed the list of ingredients and did not see any prohibited substances. I am absolutely shocked that deer antler spray may contain a banned substance and am angry that I have put myself in this position. I have been in contact with the PGA TOUR and am cooperating fully with their review of this matter. I will not be commenting further at this time.
In the Sports Illustrated article, Singh was named as one of several athletes to use a banned substance from a two-man company called S.W.A.T.S. -- Sports with Alternatives to Steroids.
The company sells products such as deer antler spray and hologram chips that they claim will help athletes perform better on the field.
The deer antler spray contains IGF-1, which SI describes as a "natural, anabolic hormone that stimulates muscle growth."
It is also a banned substance by all major pro sports leagues.
According to SI, PGA Tour players were warned about the deer antler spray back in 2011 after Mark Calcavecchia was told by the PGA Tour to stop endorsing S.W.A.T.S.'s "Ultimate Spray." Ken Green also endorsed the product. However, Singh told SI he used the deer antler spray as well as other S.W.A.T.S. products that the company claims enhances athletic performance.
Vijay Singh, however, remains a vocal supporter. In November, Singh paid Ross $9,000 for the spray, chips, beam ray and powder additive -- making him one of the few athletes who is compensating S.W.A.T.S. He says he uses the spray banned by the PGA "every couple of hours . . . every day," sleeps with the beam ray on and has put chips on his ankles, waist and shoulders. "I'm looking forward to some change in my body," Singh says. "It's really hard to feel the difference if you're only doing it for a couple of months."
On Tuesday,Ty Votaw, executive vice president of communications for the PGA Tour, said on Tuesday that the PGA Tour had just been made aware of SI's article and was looking into it.
The two men, Christopher Key and Mitch Ross, run their company from a gym in Alabama. They sell products such as deer antler spray and hologram chips that they claim will help athletes perform better on the field.
The deer antler spray contains IGF-1, which SI describes as a "natural, anabolic hormone that stimulates muscle growth."
It is also a banned substance by all major pro sports leagues.
Despite warnings from the PGA Tour that the deer antler spray was a banned substance, SI reports that Singh ordered several products from S.W.A.T.S. last November.
(VijaySingh, however, remains a vocal supporter. In November, Singh paid Ross $9,000 for the spray, chips, beam ray and powder additive -- making him one of the few athletes who is compensating S.W.A.T.S. He says he uses the spray banned by the PGA "every couple of hours . . . every day," sleeps with the beam ray on and has put chips on his ankles, waist and shoulders. "I'm looking forward to some change in my body," Singh says. "It's really hard to feel the difference if you're only doing it for a couple of months.")
Players were warned about the deer antler spray back in 2011 after Mark Calcavecchia was told by the PGA Tour to stop endorsing S.W.A.T.S.'s "Ultimate Spray." Ken Green also endorsed the product.
According to SI, Ross had a friend who introduced him to a PGA Tour caddie. Ross told SI that the caddie was "passing me around the golf world like a prostitute."
This isn't the first time Singh has been involved with controversy. Singh continued to defend and wear the logos of Stanford Financial, even after chairman and CEO Allen Stanford was charged with running a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme.Singh even offered to pay for Stanford's bond, but he was not allowed to since he is not a U.S. citizen. Stanford is currently serving a 110-year prison sentence.
Singh, who turns 50 next month, has long been known as one of the most fit players on Tour. But in the last few years, Singh has struggled with injuries. In 2011, Singh went to Germany for a procedure on his back. The same doctor has also treated Fred Couples. In 2009, Singh had arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee.
Update: Ty Votaw, executive vice president of communications for the PGA Tour, said on Tuesday that the PGA Tour had just been made aware of SI's article and was looking into it.
Update:Geoff Shackelford found this testimonial video, which shows several Champions Tour players endorsing the hologram chips sold by S.W.A.T.S. The video was posted by Mitch Ross, one of the co-founders of S.W.A.T.S.
All Hail Rory Fellow PGA Tour pros and other athletes tweeted their congratulations for Rory McIlroy winning the Honda Classic and taking the No. 1 spot.
Congrats to @mcilroyrory on getting to no 1. Thanks to PB fans for all the love this week.
If Rory Sabbatini was striving to do a better job at controlling his temper on the course in 2012, he can now toss that New Year's resolution out the window.
At least this time, he wasn't the one who started it.
Last year, the fiery South African nearly came to blows with Sean O'Hair during the second round at the Zurich Classic. On Saturday at the Sony Open, Sabbatini was paired with Vijay Singh, who reportedly became incensed with Sabbatini's caddie following a blown par putt, and a profanity-laced argument soon followed. Here's the report from the New York Times' Karen Crouse.
According to volunteers who said they witnessed the incident, Singh, just after missing a 6-foot par put on the first hole of his third round, swore at Doran for moving while he had lined it up. When Sabbatini spoke up in defense of Doran, Singh swore at him loudly enough for volunteer marshals near the gallery ropes to hear. Singh and Sabbatini continued to jaw at each other. A security volunteer, Alan Awana, said he had never seen anything like it in his more than two decades working on the tournament.
The PGA Tour does not publicize disciplinary action against players, although it's believed Sabbatini may have been suspended for at least one week last season for his altercation with O'Hair. Stay tuned to see if either Sabbo or Vijay suddenly withdraws from any upcoming events.
Lexi's Parents Reveal Family Secret
Randall Mell at Golfchannel.com has an excellent feature on Lexi Thompson's family, which revealed a secret in hopes of dispelling gossip outside the ropes.
Judy Thompson, the mother of Lexi and her older brothers Nicholas and Curtis, used to be married to Lexi's uncle, Paul Curtis "Curt" Thompson, who is the father of Nicolas. But Curt died tragically in a skiing accident in 1983, and Judy eventually married Curt's brother, Scott, who is the father of both Lexi and Curtis. Mell explains more:
They are revealing their scars reluctantly, only because they have heard whispers grow more loudly, because they dread gossip taking cruel, inaccurate twists. They’re disappointed they feel pressure to share private family matters, but they’re doing it so the story isn’t turned into something ugly.
Here it is, the simple and complicated truth: Scott Thompson isn’t really Nicholas’ father. Well, not his biological father, though Nicholas will tell you Scott is his father in every other way imaginable.
Tweet of the Day
Translation (we think): "Excited to begin the year in Palm Springs. It's going to be a very good week, but we will try not to make it so dramatic."
