OAKLAND DIGEST

US PGA Championship stories in brief

Perry withdraws with eye injury

KENNY PERRY and the majors haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye this year. The in-form American didn't have an exemption into the Masters and then missed both the US Open and the British Open to focus on winning a place on the US Ryder Cup team for the match in his native Kentucky, which he succeeded in doing. However, Perry's involvement in the US PGA was curtailed when he withdrew after a first round 79, citing an eye injury. He suffered a scratched cornea removing a contact lens on the eve of the championship. "It bothered me, it's no way to play golf," said Perry.

Goydos first for random test

HERE'S ONE for pub quiz buffs. Who was the first golfer to undergo a random drugs test at a major championship? The answer: Paul Goydos.

Goydos, who finished runner-up to Sergio Garcia in the Players Championship earlier this season, was asked to supply a urine sample after his first round - a 74 - on Thursday. The drug testing programme started on the main tours on July 1st but was not conducted at the British Open last month because qualifying events had been held before the introduction date.

The US Tour journeyman didn't say if he had to pee into a tin cup to supply his sample, but he is fully behind the testing. "The rules are set up to show the world that everything's fine out here. You can't say we didn't run a thorough test . . ."

Clarke's Ryder Cup hopes fading

DARREN CLARKE'S hopes of making a late bid for one of captain Nick Faldo's two "wild card" picks to next month's Ryder Cup in Valhalla will rest on how he does in his two remaining qualifying tournaments - the Dutch Open and the Johnnie Walker championship - after the Ulsterman missed the cut here at Oakland Hills.

"It didn't feel as if I played that badly at all," said Clarke, who had a second round 76 for 151, 11-over. "But that is major championship golf, it's on the edge between getting good results and bad results and unfortunately things didn't go my way. I had a cold putter all week."

Clarke, who intends to celebrate his 40th birthday by taking a family holiday to Donegal next week, will play the tournaments in the Netherlands and Scotland in an attempt to turn Faldo's eye.

Yesterday, though, he was entirely honest when asked if he merited a pick. "Would I pick myself at the moment? I'd struggle to pick myself at the moment. But if I play well in those last couple of weeks and he was to pick me then great but I have to play well. That is the bottom line. And if I don't (make it) I will be watching like everyone else (on TV)."

Allenby on course as thieves ignore navigation system

ALTHOUGH MANY players competing at the US PGA rent houses close to the course, others favour staying in hotels . . . although a number probably wish they hadn't after becoming the latest victims of Detroit's car thieves yesterday.

A number of players had their GPS navigation systems stolen from cars which were parked at their hotel.

Australian Robert Allenby was one of those whose car was broken into, but for some reason the thieves left his system intact.

"My navigation system was still there, but the others had the centre console system taken out of every car . . . I don't know why they didn't take mine. Maybe I had it on the wrong channel."