Vijay Singh revealed in a magazine interview back in January that he had used deer antler spray, which contains small amounts of IGH-1 which is a muscle-building hormone banned by the PGA Tour and is only detected in blood tests.
Singh joins an ever growing file of professional athletes who have tried to boost their athletic prowess by using deer antler spray which is applied under the tongue. The only trouble is that the antler extract, like insulin, is destroyed by such things a saliva and stomach acids long before it can be effective as a muscle builder.
The Commissioner of the PGA Tour, Tim Finchem has told the press that Singh would not be suspended for his admission of using the deer antler spray. Since the Tour found out about the incident via Singh’s own admission and not via a drug test, Singh would not be liable for the results.
In a statement from the PGA Tour office, Finchem said, “At that time, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) clarified that it no longer considers the use of deer antler spray to be prohibited unless a positive test results.”
Finchem finished with these words of warning, “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.”
Greg Norman does not seem to think that the Tour is doing enough. He recently stated that golf’s anti-doping procedures are a disgrace and that blood testing needs to be instituted as soon as possible by the sport’s governing bodies.
Norman was down in Australia again designing yet another gold course for the folks there when he told a local newspaper, “If you really want to be serious about it and find about what’s really going on, we need to do blood testing. I think it’s disgraceful, to tell you the truth.”
Norman does have a point. These guys are out there in front of millions of fans, playing for millions of dollars and no one is keeping track of what might be circulating around in their blood.
Although others have broached the subject of drug testing on the PGA Tour, Greg Norman is the first to actually come out and call for regular blood testing.
While the game of golf is not as physically demanding as football or even baseball, golfers are just like athletes everywhere…. just looking for that little edge to put them over the top in the next tourney.
