A legal battle that had been ongoing since May 2013 has been resolved, according to a statement released by the PGA Tour on Tuesday.
Vijay Singh’s lawsuit against the Tour stemmed from his anti-doping suspension when he admitted in a Sports Illustrated article he’d taken deer-antler spray that contained IGF-1, a growth hormone like HGH that is on the circuit’s list of banned substances.
Although the suspension was later rescinded, Singh filed the suit in New York Supreme Court claiming the Tour recklessly administered and implemented its anti-doping program.
“As a result of the PGA Tour’s action, Singh has been labeled by the PGA Tour, media, some fellow golfers and fans as someone who intentionally took a banned substance in an effort to gain a competitive advantage,” the initial lawsuit read.
But after five years of legal wrangling both sides reached a settlement, although no specifics were given about the settlement in Tuesday’s release and there have been no court filings in the case since July.
“The PGA Tour and Vijay Singh are pleased to announce that we have resolved our prior dispute,” Tuesday’s statement read. “The settlement reflects our mutual commitment to look to the future as we put this matter behind us.
“The PGA Tour recognizes that Vijay is one of the hardest working golfers ever to play the game, and does not believe that he intended to gain an unfair advantage over his fellow competitors in this matter.”
The statement goes on to say, “Vijay fully supports the PGA Tour’s anti-doping program and all efforts to protect the integrity of the game that he loves so much.”
Neither the Tour nor Singh, who played 10 times on Tour this season and 20 times on the over-50 circuit, made any additional statements regarding the settlement.
The settlement follows October’s announcement that a group of Tour caddies had dropped a lawsuit against the Tour that centered on the bibs caddies wear during tournaments.
