One former PGA pro declared, and then retracted, that Tiger Woods failed a drug test and serves out a secret suspension.
The PGA, as they did when Dustin Johnson removed himself from the tour, denies forcing the golfer aside.
“Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people that are important to me,” Woods wrote on his website last month. “My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf.”
Dan Olsen spoke aloud hearsay that Woods’s disappearance from the links stemmed from reasons beyond those given when the former pro appeared on a Lansing, Michigan, sports talk radio show last Friday.
Olsen, 48, who hasn’t played on the pro circuit since 2011, claimed that a suspension keeps Woods away from golf. He said, “I heard he’s on a month’s suspension. And it’s not, it’s kind of a strong witness. It’s a credible person that’s telling me this. It’s not testosterone, but it’s something else. I think when it’s all said and done, he’s gonna surpass Lance Armstrong with infamy.”
A PGA official, though, immediately denied Olsen’s claims.
PGA media operative Joel Schuchmann released a statement, saying, “Regarding the allegations made by Dan Olsen concerning Tiger Woods, there is no truth whatsoever to his claims and the PGA Tour categorically denies them.”
Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg also claimed that the charge was nonsense. “These claims are absolutely, unequivocally and completely false,” he said. “They are un-sourced, unverified and completely ridiculous.”
Several days later, though, Olsen backtracked, saying that he had not based his comments on firsthand knowledge.
“Everything I said on that radio interview was only my opinion and not based on any firsthand knowledge or facts,” Olsen told ESPN.com. “I want to make a full retraction to everything I said for the entire radio interview, and I apologize to Tiger, Nike, Phil [Mickelson], [commissioner] Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour.”
Olsen also lamented that his interview made him look as if he is “just some crazy f—ing nobody making accusations about Tiger.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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