For someone who has played just four tournaments this year across the PGA Tour, PGA Tour Canada, and Korn Ferry Tour, Trey Mullinax took too big a risk and is now suffering the consequences. The PGA Tour announced his six-month suspension for violating its anti-doping policy. The Tour broke the news via X on Wednesday. 

Reportedly, Mullinax tested positive for a substance that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has banned. However, the substance he tested positive for remains a mystery. The PGA Tour will lift the suspension on January 16, 2027. Reportedly, the University of Alabama graduate has “cooperated fully with the Tour throughout the process” and accepted his suspension. 

According to the PGA Tour’s policies, the Tour prohibits the use of performance-enhancing substances and methods in line with WADA standards. All players will be responsible for any banned substance found in their system, regardless of intent. 

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Even if they need the substances for any reason, they need to get approval or a therapeutic exemption for certain prescribed medications. If they do not follow this rule, they will face a mandatory six-month suspension. The PGA Tour publicly announces these violations, as seen in Mullinax’s case.

Mullinax has since issued a clarification, taking “full responsibility for what happened.” Although he didn’t reveal what drug he had taken, he stated he “used a medication to treat a condition” he was diagnosed with in college. Mullinax admitted that he had taken the drug without approval.

“My lack of knowledge is not an excuse. It was my responsibility to know the rules before taking any medication, and I failed to do so. I want to be absolutely clear — I have never taken any substance with the intention of gaining a competitive advantage. Anyone who knows me knows how much I respect this game and the values it represents.

“I accept the consequences of my actions and will use this experience as a lesson. Golf has given me so much, and I never want one mistake to define the respect I have for the game or for the people who support me.”

Mullinax underwent right hip labrum surgery following the October 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship. Although he returned to the PGA Tour in January 2025 at the American Express, he only made nine cuts in 23 tournaments last year.

Doctors allowed the 34-year-old to play under a Major Medical Extension through the 2025 FedExCup Fall season. However, he failed to secure enough points to keep full playing status. Mullinax teed off at the Q-School but withdrew after shooting 7-over in the first two rounds. A similar fate could befall him this time as well, thanks to the suspension.

The current season will be over by the time the World No. 544 golfer returns. The suspension suggests Mullinax won’t be able to earn a card for next season. He is 150th in the FedEx Cup Fall and played only two tournaments on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut in both of them. Mullinax, however, isn’t the first one to meet such a fate.

In October 2023, the PGA Tour suspended Byeong Hun An for three months after taking an over-the-counter cough medicine in South Korea containing a banned ingredient. Meanwhile, the Tour also suspended Bhavik Patel for a year in January 2015 for violating its anti-doping policy on the use of a performance-enhancing substance.

The Tour has handed several other players similar suspensions from time to time. Mullinax was just an addition to a long list of players whose tests didn’t match the PGA Tour’s anti-doping standards.