PGA Tour will begin testing for HGH
The PGA Tour is beefing up its anti-doping policy by adding blood testing and bringing its list of banned substances in line with the World Anti-Doping Association.
The revised policy takes effect in October, at the start of next season.
Blood testing will allow the tour to detect any use of human growth hormone, which is on the list of banned substances but cannot be detected through urine. However, the tour still plans to use urine samples for the majority of its drug testing next season.
Tiger Woods has checked into a clinic to get help dealing with prescription medication for pain and a sleep disorder, and his agent is not sure how long he will stay.
Mark Steinberg of Excel Sports Management said Tuesday he could not disclose the location of the in-patient treatment. He said pain medication at times was the only way Woods could get up and moving during the toughest days of recovery following four back surgeries.
Together for 25 years and more than 600 golf tournaments, Phil Mickelson and caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay are moving on.
In a surprising email just two days after the U.S. Open that Mickelson didn’t play, they said the decision to part ways was mutual and not based on any one incident. “We just feel it’s the right time for a change,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson and Mackay were together for 45 victories worldwide, including five majors, and every Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup team since 1994.
Top-ranked Andy Murray headed a list of high-profile departures in the first round at Queen’s in London, with the Wimbledon champion losing to a player who found out he was competing only on the morning of the match.
Murray put in a sloppy and errorprone display in losing to 90th-ranked Jordan Thompson 7-6 (4), 6-2, joining Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic in getting eliminated on a day of shocks at the Wimbledon warmup event. They were the top three seeds.
It was Murray’s first loss at Queen’s since 2014, ended his 14-match winning run on grass dating to 2015, and is a setback to his preparation for Wimbledon, which starts on July 3.
The second-seeded Wawrinka was beaten by big-serving Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Raonic, last year’s runner-up at Queen’s and Wimbledon — both times to Murray — lost 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8) to No. 698-ranked Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Roger Federer bounced back from his first-round defeat in Stuttgart last week with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Yuichi Sugita of Japan in the opening round of the Gerry Weber Open at Halle, Germany. It was the Swiss great’s 1,100th career victory.
Garbine Muguruza, who lost in the fourth round while trying to defend her French Open title, barely survived her first grass match of the season at the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England, struggling to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Russian qualifier Elzaveta Kulichkova. Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova also won her opening match, beating Tereza Smitkova 6-2, 6-3.
Demetrius Rhaney, a backup center for the Rams the last three seasons, was one of four players waived Tuesday. Receiver Marquez North and linebackers Reggie Northrup and Teidrick Smith were also waived. The Rams also signed their remaining five draft picks, receiver Josh Reynolds and linebacker Samson Ebukam (fourth round), defensive tackle Tanzel Smart and fullback Sam Rogers (sixth) and linebacker Ejuan Price (seventh).
Former Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire says he’s going to Florida. Zaire announced his decision Tuesday on Instagram with a picture of the Gators logo.
Tony DiCicco, who coached the U.S. to the 1999 World Cup title before an overflow Rose Bowl crowd in a landmark for women’s soccer, has died at 68. DiCicco became the U.S. coach in 1994 and led the team to the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the first Games to feature women’s soccer.