ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The PGA, LPGA and organizers of golf's major championships are among organizations that have agreed to an anti-doping policy for professional golf.
The groups include the PGA of America, PGA Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association, European Tour, the organizers of the Masters, British Open, U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Senior Open. The PGA Tour involvement includes the PGA, Nationwide and Champions tours.
Testing programs are to begin in 2008 with the establishment of a Model Prohibited Substance and Methods List. The second phase includes "general standards of the fundamental elements of the anti-doping program that provides flexibility for the tours to develop specific policies and procedures for their respective organizations," the groups said in a news release.
The release said the list of banned substances and methods includes anabolic agents, hormones, agents with anti-estrogenic activity, diuretics, stimulants, narcotics, cannabinoids, beta blockers, enhancement of oxygen transfer, and chemical and physical manipulation.
Testing protocols would be at the discretion of the individual tours and are to be developed by each organization. Groups signing on to the program would control the penalties for violations.
