CHICAGO – Golf has a new mystery. Who is the player whom Tiger Woods thinks is cheating?

Woods didn’t reveal his name Wednesday, but he did level a heavy charge. He said he has confronted a player who, according to Woods, knowingly uses a nonconforming driver on the PGA Tour.

According to Woods, the player responded that he was just “playing the equipment that the manufacturer has given him.”

Woods, speaking to reporters on the eve of the Western Open at Cog Hill, said he did not report the player to Tour officials. Asked why not, he just shrugged.

The charge comes on the heels of Tuesday’s announcement that the Tour will conduct voluntary testing for drivers, beginning at the start of the 2004 season. The test will determine if the driver exceeds standards for the spring-like effect the ball has off the clubface, also known as the coefficient of restitution.

A “hot” driver would provide extra distance off the tee. Any violator would be breaching the code of golf, which prides itself on strict adherence to the rules.

Woods remains the most outspoken player in arguing that nonconforming clubs are being used on the PGA Tour. Wednesday he offered his most detailed comments yet.

He described how to determine if a player is using a nonconforming driver.

“If you see a golf ball take off, one that’s conforming and nonconforming, you’ll see a difference in how the ball flies,” Woods said. “You’ll see the difference in how the guy is able to shape the golf ball. You can tell in the first 100 yards how the ball is taking off and how it’s flying.”

Woods allows that some players may be using illegal clubs unknowingly, noting that the manufacturers could be at fault.

“Say you hand me a driver and I hit it 20 yards farther,” Woods said. “Hey, I’m happy I’m hitting it 20 yards farther. I’m not going to ask you why I’m hitting it 20 yards farther.”

But if Woods knows of a player who is using a nonconforming driver, he should report him to PGA Tour officials, according to Jim Furyk. The U.S. Open champion

detailed an example. During Tour school, he said, an official admonished him for not reporting a rules violation by another player.

“(He said), “If you don’t turn someone in for breaking the rules, you’re just as at fault as he is,’ ” said Furyk, who claims he didn’t see the alleged violation. “Basically, you have the obligation if you see something wrong, you have to mention it to (PGA officials).”

David Toms said any questions would be resolved when the testing goes into effect.

“Either he’ll fail the test or he’ll get a new driver,” Toms said.

Then again, the player might not submit any clubs to be tested. The test is voluntary. Woods hoped it would be mandatory.

“I know they’re trying to protect the integrity of the game by not forcing us to have to do it, which I completely understand,” Woods said. “But I wish they could do a little bit more. I think there might be pressure from you guys in the media for everybody to test.”

Furyk also was confused about the test’s voluntary aspect. He compared it to allowing a track athlete to decide whether to submit to drug testing.

“I think we have a pretty solid foundation of players who want to abide by the rules,” Furyk said. “But if there’s one bad apple, you’re not catching him, and that’s the whole point.”

Toms, a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board, said the voluntary aspect is part of the notion that golf is a “gentleman’s game.” He said he expects every player will submit his drivers for testing.

“We call penalties on ourselves and we play by the rules,” Toms said.

Toms said he doesn’t think any player is using an illegal club knowingly. Furyk agrees, although he has heard his share of finger pointing on the range.

“Company A is charging company B, and company B is charging company A,” Furyk said. “Maybe there is an issue.”

Woods is making the issue hot. He called the decision to test, even on a voluntary basis, a step in the right direction.

“It’s a matter of making sure the game is preserved and policed,” Woods said. “It’s the greatest game in the world and I want it to stay that way.”

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(c) 2003, Chicago Tribune.

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AP-NY-07-02-03 2225EDT

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