JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The 20-year-old Ping wedges with square-shaped grooves will no longer be allowed on the PGA Tour starting March 29 under a deal reached Monday with Ping executives.
John Solheim, the chairman and CEO of Ping, said the Phoenix- based company is waiving its right that had kept the PGA Tour from banning Ping Eye2 wedges made before April 1, 1990, that have deeper, wide grooves no longer allowed under new USGA regulations.
Those wedges were allowed through a 1990 settlement from when Ping sued the PGA Tour and U.S. Golf Association. Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan, John Daly and Fred Couples were among players who used the Ping wedges.
It had become such a divisive issue that Scott McCarron accused Mickelson of “cheating” by using the club.
The waiver will apply on the PGA Tour, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour.
Doctors says HGH was for him
TORONTO — A sports doctor at the center of drug investigations in Canada and the United States said he treated Alex Rodriguez after the New York Yankees slugger had hip surgery last year and prescribed anti-inflammatories but not human growth hormone. If true, Rodriguez could be in violation of his contract.
Dr. Anthony Galea also said an assistant who was stopped at the U.S.-Canadian border in Buffalo, N.Y., last year was carrying only a minuscule amount of HGH — which Galea said was for his own use.
“I only brought enough for her to do two injections into me because I was away for two nights,” Galea said. “They made it look like I had 100 vials. I had one little vial and two doses were for me.”
Meanwhile, Marc J. Philippon, who performed hip surgery on Rodriguez last March, said he never gave approval for Galea to treat the player and expressed skepticism about the doctor’s statement.
“If his hip was really hurting, he would have called me,” Philippon said. “I don’t want to say Dr. Galea is not truthful, if that is what he says.”
• St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols is day to day because of discomfort in his lower back.
• New York Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez returned to camp after being hampered by conjunctivitis for more than two weeks.
Footnotes.
Rachel Alexandra, the 2009 horse of the year, drew the No. 2 post position for Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies.
• Sebastian Schnuelle took the early lead of the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska when he became the first musher to leave the Rainy Pass checkpoint.
• U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden will be sidelined for about six weeks after undergoing surgery on his broken right leg.
• New York Red Bulls forward Giorgi Chirgadze faces a four- to five-month recovery after undergoing left hip surgery.
• Bob Nash was fired as coach of the University of Hawaii’s men’s basketball team after posting a 34-56 record over three seasons.
• Seattle University junior forward Charles Garcia, who averaged 18.7 points and 8.3 rebounds, declared for the NBA draft after only one season of major college basketball.
Denver Post wire services
