European Tour to begin drug testing in July
VIRGINIA WATER, England (AP) -The European Tour will introduce random drug testing after July 1.
Tour operations director David Garland, who is responsible for implementing the tests, said it would begin before the European Open, which starts July 3 at the London Club.
"Because it is supposed to be random and the players are not supposed to know," Garland said at the BMW PGA Championship. "So it could be any time after July 1."
The European and U.S. Tours are acting together to implement the policy.
Garland said several anti-doping seminars had been held during tournaments since late last year, with between 20 and 30 players attending each one.
"One is enough for each player," he said. "I think we've got our message out there."
Garland said players were already contacting the tour doctor over medical supplements and medications, such as treatments for hay fever.
At least two more seminars are scheduled, at next month's tournaments in France, the St. Omer Open and the French Open.
Garland said he expected "a few" players would be tested at each tournament.
The program will eventually cover all of golf's major events. The Royal and Ancient Club won't begin testing at this year's British Open at Royal Birkdale in July because international qualifying had already been held without it.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Final week before US, British opens exempt top 50
It didn't take long for Ryuji Imada to realize some of the perks from winning the AT&T Classic outside Atlanta, chief among them a return trip to Georgia next April for the Masters.
Little did he know that his victory also sewed up a spot in the U.S. Open and the British Open.
This is a big week for a dozen or so players who are not already exempt from qualifying for golf's two oldest championships. The U.S. Open and British Open will take the top 50 in the world ranking after this week, and some exemptions are available through money lists.
Imada is at No. 49, but he'll get his free pass to both Opens through the money list.
The top 10 on the PGA Tour money list through Colonial are exempt to the U.S. Open, and Imada is a lock at No. 4. The British Open takes the top three players not already exempt among the top 20 on the money list through Colonial. Imada is mathematically assured of that spot, too, because most of the players around him on the money list will easily make it off the world ranking.
Two guys with the most to gain at Colonial are Jeff Quinney and Bart Bryant.
Quinney is at No. 52 in the world and No. 14 in the money list, so good play will take care of either one. He'll need to finish in the top 10 to have any chance of being exempt for the U.S. Open.
Bryant is No. 51 in the world and No. 19 on the money list, and his better chance is to crack the top 50 in the world ranking. He likely will need to finish in the top 15. Others on the bubble through the world ranking include Nick O'Hern (No. 55), John Senden (No. 57) and Chad Campbell (No. 58).
The U.S. Open also takes the top 10 from the Order of Merit on the European Tour, and that could turn out to be an interesting battle. Damien McGrane is holding down the 10th spot by $1,669 over Oliver Wilson.
As for the British Open, the top three players on the U.S. money list not already exempt are Imada, Quinney and Bryant, with Sean O'Hair about $25,000 behind Bryant. All of them are at Colonial this week.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Garrido holds 3-stroke lead after 3rd round of Spanish Open
SEVILLE, Spain (AP) -Ignacio Garrido of Spain shot an even-par 72 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Spanish Open.
Garrido three-putted for a bogey at the par-4 18th hole, but still led countryman Miguel Angel Jimenez (67) with a 15-under total of 201. Garrido couldn't emulate Friday's round when he set the course record at 63.
The 36-year-old Garrido's father Antonio won the Spanish Open in 1972 - less than three weeks after Ignacio was born - and the pair could become the first father-son duo to win the same European Tour event.
Mark Foster of England (68), Denmark's Soren Hansen (67) and Paraguay's Marco Ruiz were four strokes behind at 205.
Danny Willett of England was nine under through 14 before scoring a bogey at No. 15 and three straight pars to card 64 - the day's lowest round. The English amateur was seven shots back of Garrido.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Scott retains lead into final round of Nelson after Sutherland's bad finish
IRVING, Texas (AP) -Adam Scott overcame two front-nine bogeys and shot a 3-under 67 Saturday to take a three-shot lead entering the final round of the EDS Byron Nelson Championship.
Scott, at No. 10 in the world the highest-ranked player in the field, birdied two of the last three holes, including a 3 1/2-footer at the 429-yard 18th for an 8-under 202.
That put him three strokes ahead of a quartet of players - Kevin Sutherland (67), Bart Bryant (67), Charley Hoffman (68) and Ryan Moore (68). Sergio Garcia, after a season-best 65, was four strokes back along with Dudley Hart (66) and Jesper Parnevik (68).
Sutherland, whose only U.S. PGA Tour victory came six years ago, was at 7 under with a one-stroke lead over Scott until bogeys on the final two holes.
After missing a 7-foot par putt on the 198-yard 17th hole, Sutherland pushed his final tee shot way right into heavy rough - and was still in the rough after his punch shot. He finally got to the front edge of the green and two-putted from 70 feet.
"I have to remember what I did before that," Sutherland said. "I had a good rhythm going, a good feeling and tried to keep doing that. ... I kind of got away from that maybe at the end."
While Sutherland was getting spectators moved out of the way for his first shot out of the rough at 18, Scott missed a chance for a bigger margin when his 9-foot birdie attempt at the 504-yard 15th hole drifted centimeters left of the hole. But Scott didn't wait long for another birdie chance.
Scott missed the fairway on the par-5 16th, layed up into the fairway and put his approach shot inside 6 feet to set up a birdie. After his aggressive birdie attempt at 17 rolled 6 feet past the hole, Scott's approach at 18 was right on the pin.
In his only other Nelson appearance two years ago, Scott shared the lead at the end of each of the first three rounds. A closing 71 left him in third place behind Brett Wetterich and Trevor Immelman.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
Penn State golfers lose eligibility at tournament
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- This weekend, the Rutherford Intercollegiate tournament allowed Penn State golfers to start their collegiate careers.
Unfortunately for them, it came at the expense of shortening them.
The participation of freshmen Brenden Borst and Jason Cohan, who both played solely in individual competition, cost both players the possibility of a fifth year of eligibility.
Neither of the players had competed in a collegiate golf tournament before this weekend so their redshirt eligibility was still intact by teeing off on Saturday, both are now limited to four years of golf at Penn State.
"It's amazing that one tournament can effect the entire career of a golfer," coach Greg Nye said. "And it can be a toss up making that decision because no one knows what kind of development a player will have in four years as opposed to five."
Both Borst and Cohan said they consulted Nye as well as their families to make their decision. The choice is essentially left up to the player but under heavy guidance and consideration from the coaching staff.
While both players started their careers in the Rutherford, Borst said his decision wasn't motivated by golf, but because he wanted to finish school in four years and get into the working world.
"When I talked about it with my family, my parents basically told me they weren't going to pay for five years of school," he said.
Cohan said his decision came down to getting out of Pennsylvania as soon as possible. He is weighing the possibly of playing professional golf after graduation, and a fifth year in the harsh golfing environment of the North could hold his development back. Once he gets his degree, he plans on continuing golf in Florida.
Now that Cohan and Borst have officially competed, Tommy McDonagh is the only remaining freshman on the team that still has a fifth year of eligibility. To make his decision of whether or not he would take away his red shirt, he consulted senior Robert Rohanna. Rohanna suggested sitting out his freshman year, including the Rutherford Intercollegiate, to get more practice and feel for college golf.
Rohanna himself had opted to forgo his red shirt season and start playing as soon as he came to Penn State four years ago. He said he regretted not redshirting, but it ended up being a good decision.
"It gave me such an advantage to get into the game as quickly as possible," Rohanna said. "It's a give and take decision but I think it was the basis for my successful golf career at Penn State."
Copyright 2008, U-WIRE
OU men's golf takes 10th
NORMAN, Okla. -- It was a sophomore showcase for OU at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. Friday through Sunday.
The men's golf team competed in the ASU Invitational this weekend and took home 10th place after a big push on the last day of the three-day competition.
The Sooners opened play against the 16-team field Friday, sitting in 11th place after the first round. Senior Phillip Bryan locked in the topopening round at 71.
OU, however, dropped back to the 14th position on the second day as sophomores Jesse Schutte and Eric Durbin each shot 73 to lead the team.
But the Sooners mustered a final push Sunday as the men posted solid rounds to make up lost ground. Durbin finished the tournament as the highest ranked Sooner with a 38th place finish en route to leading the squad to its seventh top-ten finish. Durbin's three-day total was seven-over par.
Sophomore Ben Blundell also moved forward Sunday, carding 69 for the round, the lowest Sooner score for the tournament. He finished 40th and was followed by Schutte and Bryan, who finished the tournament tied for 52nd.
The Sooners look to keep driving forward as they next head to the Big 12 tournament in Trinity, Texas April 25 through 27.
Copyright 2008 U-WIRE
France's Gregory Bourdy wins Estoril Open in playoff
CASCAIS, Portugal (AP) -France's Gregory Bourdy won the Estoril Open for his second European tour victory, beating England's David Howell with a par on the third hole of a playoff Sunday.
Bourdy closed with a 1-under 70 to match Howell (64) and Scotland's Alastair Forsyth (66) at 18-under 266 on the Oitavos Dunes course.
All three parred the first extra hole, No. 18. They then played 18 again, with Forsyth dropping out with a bogey.
On No. 17, Bourdy's approach shot landed about 30 feet from the hole, while Howell left his shot left of the green. Howell's chip left him with a 20-foot par putt, while Bourdy rolled his third shot within 18 inches. Howell's par put slipped past the hole, and the 25-year-old Frenchman tapped in for the win.
England's Miles Tunnicliff (66) finished a stroke back.
Copyright 2007-2008, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
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