Golfer Files Lawsuit Against the PGA Tour

Pro golfer Greg Kraft sued the PGA Tour for failing to warn players about the risk of contracting a fungal infection at a tournament in Tucson, the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times reported Thursday.

Kraft, 39, filed the lawsuit this week. He thinks he got valley fever, an illness most common in the Southwest, at the Tucson Open in February 2002.

“The Tour had a responsibility to its players,” Kraft’s attorney, Leonard Decof, told the newspaper. “They should have known about this. If golfers are going to be playing under conditions that could be dangerous or life-threatening, the tour should know about it and warn them.”

Omni Hotels Management Corp., which operates the resort where the tournament took place, also was named as a defendant.

The PGA Tour and Omni Hotels did not immediately return phone calls from the newspaper seeking comment.

Kraft, an 11-year Tour player, earned $71,756 this year, placing him 220th on the PGA’s money leaders list. Kraft lost his tour card, and the PGA Tour has refused to give him a medical waiver.

Baseball

U.S. slugger Tuffy Rhodes has signed with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan’s professional baseball league. Rhodes, 35, formerly with the Kintetsu Buffaloes, agreed to a two-year deal worth $5 million, the Tokyo-based Giants announced on their Web site.

“I wanted to play with Yomiuri because of the team’s tradition,” Rhodes was quoted as saying. “I will play my best for Giants fans.”

Rhodes left Kintetsu after his attempts to seek a multiyear deal fell through. Buffaloes’ officials said it was against policy to offer a foreign player a multiyear contract.

During his eight years with the Buffaloes, Rhodes tied Japan’s single-season home run record of 55 in 2001. He led the Pacific League three times in home runs and twice in runs batted in. Last season, he was the league’s top home run hitter, with 51.

Rhodes has a total of 288 homers in Japan -- the most for a foreign player in the history of Japanese baseball. He previously played in the major leagues, for the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros.

Hockey

The core of the U.S. team that won a world hockey title is back, hoping to take the under-20 championships at Helsinki, Finland.

Twelve NHL general managers and 120 NHL scouts are expected for the nearly two-week showcase of some of the game’s most promising players.

The United States won a tournament in Slovakia a year and a half ago for players 17 to 18 years old. Twelve players from that squad are in Finland. Eight were on the team that finished fourth last year at the junior worlds in Canada.

The U.S. team is coached by Mike Eaves, who spent eight seasons in the NHL.

The tournament starts today, with the United States taking on Austria and Russia playing Slovakia in Group A in Hameenlinna. Sweden is the fifth team. In Helsinki, the Czech Republic plays Ukraine and Finland opens against Canada, with Switzerland resting.

Russia is the defending champion, and Canada features several standouts, including 16-year-old Sidney Crosby, touted as a future NHL player. Canadian goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury already has experience with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

T.J. Simers has the day off.