PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem yesterday responded to the $50M suit filed against the organization by player caddies, saying that any dispute "should be between the bagmen and their players -- the actual employers -- and not the Tour," according to Alex Miceli of GOLFWEEK. Finchem said, "The historical process is the player handles that (caddie compensation) and they are employees of the player. We think that's been a good system. The extent to which this lawsuit challenges that system, for whatever reasons they have in the lawsuit from a legal standpoint, it is what it is, but we would like to continue that system and let it go on." Miceli noted the PGA Tour "provides a $2,000 health-insurance stipend for the caddies." Asked whether the Tour would be willing to expand that program, Finchem "was unwilling to commit to an increase" (GOLFWEEK.com, 2/4). Meanwhile, in New Zealand, Fred Woodcock notes Steve Williams, the former caddie for Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Greg Norman, "has been asked" to join the suit. Williams said that he would "read the documents carefully before making a decision." Williams: "Without giving it a lot of thought, because I haven't had time to yet, there is a lot of merit in the case." He added, "You can understand that tournaments and sponsors want to get added exposure by having signage but I don't think a caddie bib is appropriate attire for a golf tournament in this day and age" (STUFF.co.nz, 2/5). Norman said, “This is a case that has a lot of merit. They’re not just caddies, they're professional caddies. This is their life, this is what they do. They're part of a team and if you're part of a team, you should be looked on as that professional caddie. I think they have a lot of merit" ("Varney & Company," Fox Business, 2/4).
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS: In San Diego, Kirk Kenney notes Finchem yesterday ahead of this week's Farmers Insurance Open was asked "if he is worried about" the state of Woods’ golf game. Finchem said that he is "concerned as a fan of the game because he would like to see Woods challenge Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories and Sam Snead’s record 82 career PGA tournament victories." But as the commissioner, Finchem "is not concerned about Woods." Finchem: "When he tees it up this week, everybody in the world’s going to want to see how he’s going to play, because here you had a guy who was so incredibly good for such a long time, and he’s struggling out there.” Finchem said that he believes Woods "has a '10-year shelf life,' even when he is past is prime." Finchem: “If he’s not winning golf tournaments, people still want to see Tiger Woods play golf" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/5).
TEST CASE: The AP's Doug Ferguson noted golf's "more stringent process of Olympic drug testing will start May 6, 2016, for players who might be eligible for the U.S. team." Finchem said that any player who "would be eligible on May 6 will have to make themselves available for testing at any time." That process "was developed" by the Int'l Golf Federation and WADA. He also said that drug testing "would remain on the PGA Tour even if golf is no longer part of the Olympics" after '20. The IOC votes in '17 to "determine whether golf becomes a permanent fixture." Finchem: "We didn't go to drug testing simply because of the Olympics. And we didn't go to drug testing because we felt we had a PED problem. We went to drug testing because the perception across the board in sports is that athletes dope. We even had questions raised about our sport. We felt that the image of our sport and our athletes is the No. 1 asset by a big margin. And in our defense we want to be able to demonstrate that our players don't PED use." Ferguson noted two players have "tested positive in the anti-doping program that began" in '08 (AP, 2/4).
