As part of a more stringent anti-doping policy, the American PGA Golf Tour will begin blood testing next season.
Revising its list of banned substances to reflect those prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the PGA Tour said in a statement that urine samples will still be used for the bulk of drug testing, but starting with the 2017-18 season that begins in October, blood testing will allow for the detection of human growth hormone.
As part of the changes, the PGA Tour will be adding three categories currently prohibited by WADA: asthma medications, allergy and anti-inflammatory medications, and pseudoephedrine over a designated threshold. While not a signatory of the WADA Code, the PGA Tour said that “given the global nature of professional golf, consistency with the WADA list ensures professional golfers need to comply with just one list in competition around the world as well as in Olympic competition.”
This story first appeared in the blog, The Sport Intern. The editor is Karl-Heinz Huba of Lorsch, Germany. He can be reached at ISMG@aol.com. The article is reprinted here with permission of Huba.