Doug Barron has been suspended for a full year after failing a drug test, becoming the first PGA Tour player to fail such a test since the tour instituted their drug policy in July 2008.Barron may not fit the mold of the normal athlete to fail drug testing, but in golf, he seems like the perfect culprit. The 40-year-old Barron has been a professional golfer since 1992, playing in 238 career PGA Tour tournaments and 110 career Nationwide Tour events.
On Monday, Barron issued an apology in a statement through the tour.
"I would like to apologize for any negative perception of the tour or its players resulting from my suspension," Barron said in the statement. "I want my fellow tour members and the fans to know that I did not intend to gain an unfair competitive advantage or enhance my performance while on tour."
The tour announced the suspension but, per its drug policy, would not disclose what substance Barron used. Barron's statement also made no mention of a specific drug.
The reason Barron is such an interesting case is because he's that golfer not trying to go from good to great, but from mediocre, by tour standards, to good.
"I'm surprised to hear that," British Open champion Stewart Cink said after hearing of the positive test. "I know him a little bit. He's taken medicine in the past for a lot of different reasons. I would think that has a lot to do with it."
Sure, Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia have the natural talent to play good golf, but someone like Barron, who has made just $2.7 million on the PGA Tour in his career -- petty cash for what the pros make -- could probably use any advantage he could muster to be able to compete with today's golfer.
Barron averaged 277 yards off the tee this past season on the Nationwide Tour, 11 yards below the average on the PGA Tour, and a number that would have had him in the 170s in rankings this season. Standing only 5-foot-9, Barron could stand to use any and all advantages with distance.
Barron has never won a tournament on either the PGA or Nationwide Tours.
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