PGA Tour suspends pro for violating PED policy via cough medicine

The PGA Tour will be one pro shorter during the 2023 fall season.

On Wednesday, the Tour announced it had suspended one long-time pro, South Korea’s Byeong Hun An, for three months for violating the Tour’s PED policy. The suspension, which dates retroactively to August 31, will be effective through the remainder of the PGA Tour fall season, pushing An out of Tour action until late 2023 at the earliest.

According to the Tour’s release, An, a 32-year-old pro who has competed professionally since 2011, tested positive after taking a cough medicine containing a banned substance under the Tour’s policy.

“An tested positive for a substance prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) contained in a cough medicine available over the counter in his native Korea,” the statement read.

An will be eligible to return to Tour competition beginning on December 1, but with only one event falling under that umbrella (the upcoming PGA Tour/LPGA co-sanctioned Grant Thornton Invitational), it’s possible, if not likely, that he will find himself out of Tour golf until the beginning of the 2024 season.

“He has cooperated fully with the Tour throughout the process and accepted his suspension,” The Tour said.

While An’s news is noteworthy on its head, the announcement marked something of a rarity for the PGA Tour, which does not disclose member suspensions unless in the case of PED violations. The Tour did not announce the specifics of suspensions of any of the dozens of pros who left for LIV, all of which received bans under Tour policy, and has historically not disclosed those who are suspended for other violation of Tour policies, like substance abuse.

The Tour’s PED policy is similar to that used in other sports. The Tour contracts the same company — Drug Free Sport — used by the NFL, NBA and other professional sports leagues to conduct its testing and maintain its standards, which include random testing for substances banned by WADA.