GOLFERS OFF COURSE SPELL TROUBLE ON THE PGA TOUR

McIlroy, Johnson, Woods, Allenby:  Golfers Off Course Spells Trouble on the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour must get out in front of a growing trend of troubling revelations about questionable behavior by prominent golfers or risk scrutiny of their policies and procedures that may cause further embarrassment and will prove difficult to maintain the honorable reputation of the sport.

Tiger Woods had his tooth knocked out by a videographer's camera earlier this week while in Italy watching girlfriend and World Cup ski champion Lindsey Vonn.  It's not the first time Woods' front teeth have gotten in the way of a blunt metal object.  He must have experienced flashbacks to the fateful early morning confrontation in 2009 when his wife at the time Elin Nordegren made a chip shot with a golf wedge into Tiger's mouth, chipping one of Tiger's front teeth after she confronted him about his extra-marital affairs.

And while on the subject of pro golfers' teeth, Rory McIlroy, currently the #1 golfer in the world, blamed a sore wisdom tooth when he abruptly quit playing on the ninth hole of the second round of the 2013 Honda Classic tournament while he was at 7 over par, walked to his car and left the course.  No disciplinary action was taken by the Tour.

More recently, pro golfer Dustin Johnson is scheduled to play golf again in February after taking himself out of golf last summer to seek professional help for 'personal challenges.'  It was widely reported at the time that Johnson, who has since married and had a child with Paulina Gretzky, was known to have slept with at least two other PGA players' wives and also had tested positive three times in the past five years for cocaine and marijuana use.  The PGA Tour stressed that Johnson was not suspended.  That curious statement raises more questions than it answers.

The most curious case of all involves PGA Tour Professional Robert Allenby, who stated that, after missing the cut at last week's Sony Open in Honolulu, he was kidnapped from a bar, drugged, robbed and assaulted by a group of men before they shoved him into the trunk of a car.  He awoke several hours later with no memory of any further details of the incident.

The response of the PGA Tour to the Dustin Johnson incident crystallizes the governing organization's inability to deal truthfully, fully and honestly with these situations.  The announcement of the Johnsons' newborn on the PGA website cites an AP story but strips the original content of any mention of Johnson's previous troubles.  Here is the original AP story about the birth.

It's no easy task for any organization to look internally and objectively analyze how current policies may be damaging to the goals and objectives of the business.  The NCAA is regularly maligned for the ineffectiveness and inconsistencies in it's dealing with member school infractions.  The problem with the PGA is different in that it is refusing to even acknowledge a rising tide of incidents that are proving damaging to the sport they are entrusted to protect.

A full, transparent and truly independent assessment of PGA Tour player discipline policies is required. When completed, all recommendations should be implemented and confirmed by another independent authority.  It's Jack Nicklaus' 75th birthday today -- who better to head up the evaluation than the most respected head-of-state of golf professionalism?