On Friday, July 29, 2016, PGA Tour Inc. once again moved to dismiss golfer Vijay Singh’s lawsuit alleging bad faith actions on the part of the PGA Tour. Singh brought suit against the PGA in 2013 after admitting in an interview to using deer antler spray, a banned substance, and accused the PGA of “absurd” and “unfair” treatment shown by the PGA’s 90-day suspension of Singh while other players used the same substance and received no sanctions.
Singh never tested positive for IGF-1, the banned substance in deer antler spray, and the PGA eventually dropped its case against Singh after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) took the product off its list of banned substances. However, Singh still filed suit with claims of being humiliated by the PGA’s unfair investigation, resulting in a tarnished reputation. The PGA Tour characterized what transpired as an “appropriate investigation” of the matter which resulting in Singh’s suspension.
The PGA further claimed that its investigation of Singh was covered by the terms of the Tour’s anti-doping program. Singh claimed that the PGA should have consulted WADA before the suspension, but on Friday the PGA countered by saying they had no such duty, and they simply acted within the guidelines of their program.