New era dawns in men's professional game with drug testing

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - This week heralds a new era in the men's professional game with drug testing in place for the first time on the U.S. PGA and European Tours.

The PGA Tour launched its anti-doping programme at this week's AT&T National in Bethesda, Maryland while the European Tour implemented its version at the European Open on the outskirts of London.

Although golf appears to be unaffected by performance-enhancing drugs, there have been widespread calls for the governing bodies to put testing policies in place.

The women's LPGA Tour left the other tours lagging when it announced plans last November to start drug testing players in the first quarter of 2008.

The PGA Tour and the European Tour, after outlining late last year a comprehensive global anti-doping policy for the sport that included a list of banned substances, have now followed suit.

"Whether we like it or not, we're going down this road," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem told reporters on the eve of Thursday's opening round at the AT&T National.

"All sports are viewed by fans and the media as having issues in this area, whether we do or not.

"With the highlighting in cycling and baseball in recent years, its become intense with the involvement of Capitol Hill in all sports of what they are doing in anti-doping. We just felt we had to go down this road.

"And the only way to have a credible programme and meet the basic tenets of the anti-doping world is to have observed testing. It may be uncomfortable for some but that's the price we're paying to have a credible system."

Finchem said he and his staff went through the drug testing process, which took just under 10 minutes, earlier on Wednesday.

UNDERSTANDING DETAIL

"I don't view it as anything meaningful from a symbolism standpoint but I just think it's important that we understand it in the detail of it," he said.

"I was very pleased with the way it went and I think that we have every reason to be optimistic that we're not going to have logistical problems. It's not going to be a big disruption and it's not going to take much time."

Finchem said the Tour would not disclose details of individual player testing but that overall numbers might be revealed at the end of this year.

In the event of a positive doping test, the Tour would disclose details only after the entire appeals and challenges was completed.

The variety of sanctions could include disqualification, a one-year suspension for a first violation, up to five years for a second violation and a lifetime ban for multiple violations, plus fines up to $500,000.

World number seven Steve Stricker, the highest-ranked player at Congressional this week, approved of drug testing being implemented on the PGA Tour for the first time.

"I think it's necessary just to keep us up with the other sports in the world," the 41-year-old American said. "It is what it is, and I think it should be part of our game."

Although the European Tour's new policy is up and running, testing may not actually take place this week.

"Testing can start any time from July 1," director of tour operations David Garland said in a news release on Wednesday. "It may happen this week, next week or other weeks down the line."

The tour plans to have its own doctors on hand at several tournaments to help the players understand what is, and what is not, on the list of banned substances.

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)