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--Charl Schwartzel of South Africa became the fourth major champion to announce that he will not play in the golf competition at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August. Schwartzel, who won the 2011 Masters champion, joined fellow South African Louis Oosthuizen, who captured the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews, in pulling out of the first golf competition in the Olympics since 1904 in St. Louis.
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"I was sorry to hear that Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel have withdrawn their names from consideration," said nine-time major champion Gary Player, the South African captain. "They have been playing outstanding golf lately.
"This certainly impacts South Africa's chances to win a gold medal. No doubt they would have made our team even stronger. ... I would have given anything to play in the Olympics. South Africa had a great team, but now obviously, it will not be as good."
Adam Scott of Australia and Vijay Singh of Fiji, both major champions, said earlier that they will not play in Rio because of scheduling issues.
Teams are chosen off the World Golf Rankings, where Oosthuizen was No. 13 last week and Schwartzel was No. 20.
Branden Grace is the highest-ranked South African at No. 11, with Jaco Van Zyl next in line for the Olympic team at No. 59.
--The World Anti-Doping Agency revealed six golfers were sanctioned for using unspecified banned substances in International Golf Federation-sanctioned events around the world in 2014.
Three golfers from Italy were sanctioned, two for testing positive for a prohibited substance, and another who was caught through non-analytical methods.
Players from France, South Korea and South Africa also were sanctioned.
"The report shows us that as well as sanctions derived from urine and blood testing, there are a significant number of 'evidence-based intelligence' rule violations," WADA spokesman Ben Nichols said.
"This goes to show that we no longer just rely on scientific testing in anti-doping, and there is an increasing number of ways for dopers to be caught. This sends a strong message to those contemplating doping."
The PGA Tour does not fall under WADA's mandate, and the U.S. circuit does not make public doping violations and penalties.
In 2013, WADA reported only one violation in golf, by a player from Colombia.
--The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center will provide skin cancer screenings for spectators at the Players Championship from May 12-15 at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Physicians from MD Anderson in Houston and Baptist MD Anderson in Jacksonville will conduct the screenings, which take about 10 minutes.
"Since becoming the official cancer center of the PGA Tour last year, MD Anderson has offered skin screenings at six events, screening 216 players and caddies thus far," said Dr. Tom Buchholz, executive vice president and physician-in-chief at MD Anderson.
"Through this partnership with Baptist MD Anderson, we are advancing our shared mission of eliminating cancer."
The screenings will take place in a private area at the adjoined MD Anderson fan zone and Baptist MD Anderson First Aid center, located inside the Nicklaus Gate, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and one of the most preventable.
--Jason Bohn is back on the PGA Tour after being sidelined for more than a month by a heart attack he suffered after playing the second round of the Honda Classic late in February. His diagnosis had a big impact on his family.
Doctors discovered that Bohn had a 99 percent blockage in a major artery, which was corrected by the insertion of a stent.
Bohn's 72-year-old mother, Carol, recently went to the doctor to get checked out. After she took a stress test, she wasn't allowed to leave the hospital, and she underwent triple-bypass surgery.
"If it saved my mother's life, it would probably be the greatest thing that could ever happen to me," Bohn said.
Bohn returned to competition on April 14 at the RBC Heritage, where he made the cut but faded on the weekend to a tie for 69th.
Even though Bohn has three hour-long cardio sessions a week and says his energy levels are higher after switching to a low-sodium diet, he isn't giving up some of his favorite foods.
Bohn smoked a few racks of ribs for his 43rd birthday last week, and at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, he hit his favorite restaurants for smoked duck and char-grilled oysters, saying that he simply has cut down on the quantity.
--Defending champion Inbee Park of South Korea withdrew from the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout on the LPGA Tour last week because of a nagging thumb injury.
Park, No. 2 in the Rolex Women's World Golf Rankings, also missed time earlier this season because of a back injury.
"I'm sorry I'm not going to be able to defend my title in Texas this year," Park said. "It's a fantastic event and one that has always been on my must-plays ever since the event started in 2013.
"I've had an ongoing thumb injury since late last year. ... After a long discussion with my team, we decided it was best to take the next month off and get it right."
Park also captured the Texas Shootout title at Las Colinas in 2013.
--Jim Furyk, who has not played on the PGA Tour this season after undergoing surgery on his left wrist in February, will return this week at the Wells Fargo Championship.
The 45-year-old veteran also will play next week in the Players Championship.
"I think the recovery has been pretty good," said Furyk, who has won 17 times on the PGA Tour, including the 2003 U.S. Open. "I think (I'm) where I expected. I'm kind of working through some scar tissue in the wrist.
"I'm starting to play a little golf again. I've been a little cautious about trying to play a bunch of days in a row, really trying to bring it along ... cautiously."
Furyk hasn't played on the PGA Tour since he withdrew from the first round of the BMW Championship last fall, with the injury knocking him out of the Presidents Cup.
He won the 2006 Wells Fargo Championship.
