McCarron continues his crusade against use of illegal club

SAN DIEGO – Scott McCarron is not backing away from his accusation that Phil Mickelson and other golfers are cheating if they use the Ping-Eye 2 wedges with square grooves.

McCarron issued a statement Monday in which he wanted to clarify that while he believes “it’s cheating” for anyone to use the Ping wedges, “I never called Phil Mickelson a cheater.

“That being said, I want my fans, sponsors and most importantly, my fellow players, to know that I will not be silenced and I will continue my efforts to get the groove issue resolved,” he said.

Mickelson said over the weekend that he was “publicly slandered,” and he hinted at legal action if the PGA Tour does not discipline McCarron for his choice of words.

Square grooves no longer are allowed on the PGA Tour because of a new USGA policy effective this year that requires grooves in irons to be a more shallow V-shape, which generate less spin.

However, the Ping-Eye 2 wedges made before April 1, 1990, are approved for competition because of a lawsuit that Ping settled with the PGA Tour and USGA some 20 years ago.

It has not been proven whether the grooves of a 20-year-old club – Mickelson played them in college at Arizona State and found this wedge in his garage – spin more than V-shaped grooves made with today’s technology.