MONTREAL (AP) _ Tiger Woods said Monday anyone who tests positive
under golf's new drug policy should pay a steep price.
``Given our reputation in our sport, how honourable our sport is
and always has been and will continue to be, I think that the
penalty has got to be somewhat significant,'' Woods said in a
conference call to announce the field for his Target World
Challenge.
The World Golf Foundation, comprised of major golf organizations
around the world, announced last week that a drug policy would begin
in 2008. The PGA Tour has yet to disclose the full list of banned
substances until it can share it with the players, and commissioner
Tim Finchem said details such as how and when to test _ as well as
penalties _ are still being worked out.
He said testing could begin as early as next spring.
Woods was in Montreal for the Presidents Cup, and he said Finchem
was to begin meeting with players this week on the drug policy.
Woods said he was curious to see what would be on the banned list,
suggesting golf might not need to test for everything on the banned
list for Olympic sports.
Finchem said two classes of drugs _ Glucocorticosteroids and
Beta-2-Agonists _ were left off the golf list because they are not
believed to enhance a golfer's performance and would cause an
administrative burden. Each tour could choose to add those classes
to its respective lists.
``How severe are we going to be on this is the question,'' Woods
said. ``That's the thing that we're looking forward to talking to
Tim this week, getting more detail on how far and how extensive is
the list going to be.''
Woods said he was not aware of any golfer currently using
performance-enhancing drugs, and while he said the penalty for
anyone caught should be severe, the biggest blow would be to a
player's honour.
``I think it would be very disappointing if it did happen,'' he
said. ``I think that person's reputation would be obviously damaged
pretty significantly.''