Former professional golfer tests positive for cannabis

Four golfers have tested positive in tests carried out by the South African Golf Union ahead of this week’s RBC AfrAsia Bank Open in Johannesburg. A seventh player received a warning after a background test conducted by the union revealed traces of a prohibited substance in his system. The affected golfers were named by the union as Simon Billett, Peter Uihlein, Mike Flemming and Peter George. The fourth golfer receiving a warning was not named, but was said to be part of the same group as the first three who failed the tests. Uihlein and Flemming, who was also charged after an out-of-competition test for cannabis use, will miss the event after failing the test as has Billett, who was tested on the PGA Tour of the United States. Flemming was also charged last month by the PGA Tour after he was charged in a recreational marijuana driving stop in 2015. South African player Shem Alexander told Golfweek magazine that the latest example of a player test positive should be “a clear message to players and to the game.”