Doug Barron, a 40-year-old journeyman who lost his tour card three years ago, became the first player to be suspended by the PGA Tour for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

Barron was immediately suspended for one year, the PGA Tour said yesterday. He played eight full seasons on the tour, with his best finish a tie for third at the Byron Nelson Championship in 2006.

"I would like to apologize for any negative perception of the tour or its players resulting from my suspension," Barron said in a statement released by the tour. "I want my fellow tour members and the fans to know that I did not intend to gain an unfair competitive advantage or enhance my performance while on tour."

The tour said it would have no further comment, and Barron's agent did not immediately return a call.

Under its doping policy, the tour announces a suspension but does not disclose what substance a player used. The tour did not start random testing until July 2008, which includes its second-tier Nationwide Tour.

Barron played a full Nationwide schedule last year, making only five cuts in 17 starts to earn $33,446. He played four times on the Nationwide Tour this year, and his lone PGA Tour start came at the St. Jude Classic, where he missed the cut.

FOOTBALL

FLORIDA SUSPENDS LB SPIKES FOR GOUGE

Florida coach Urban Meyer suspended Brandon Spikes for the first half of Saturday's game against Vanderbilt after the star linebacker attempted to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey in a 41-17 victory.

Meyer says Spikes was retaliating after getting his eye poked earlier in the game.

Spikes is fourth on the team with 42 tackles and has three sacks.

He decided to return for his senior season instead of entering the NFL draft. The team's defensive captain has missed most of two games this season with an injured groin. He played only a series against Arkansas and sat out the entire game at Mississippi State on Oct. 24.

SYRACUSE WIDEOUT WILLIAMS QUITS TEAM

Syracuse wide receiver Mike Williams has quit the team.

Williams, one of the top receivers in the country, told coach Doug Marrone yesterday morning of his decision.

Williams, who did not play last year because of academic problems, was suspended for Syracuse's game against Akron nine days ago for violating team policy.

He ranks sixth nationally with 106.57 receiving yards per game and his seven receptions per game ties for 14th in the country. Both top the Big East Conference. He also had 20 touchdown catches in his career, tied for second all-time at Syracuse with Marvin Harrison.

TENNIS

ATP TOLD TO LOOK INTO AGASSI DRUG USE

The World Anti-Doping Agency has asked tennis authorities to investigate Andre Agassi's admission that he took crystal meth in 1997.

WADA director general David Howman told The Associated Press he sent a letter to the ATP yesterday but he would not elaborate on what he said. He said he wants to protect "clean athletes" and "make sure that these sorts of things don't recur."

Agassi wrote in his soon-to-be-released autobiography "Open" that he ingested crystal meth and then lied to the governing body of men's tennis to avoid a suspension after failing a doping test.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

David Beckham will return to AC Milan on loan in January after the Italian club reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. ... Roger Federer made a winning return from a six-week break yesterday, beating Belgium's Olivier Rochus, 6-3, 6-4, at his hometown Swiss Indoors tournament at Basel, Switzerland.