Is it a sport if you can smoke while doing it?

From Golf.com: Fans, not players, face first smoke-free Open

“Our concern was for the players,” said USGA president Jim Vernon. “This is THE national championship and some of them smoke.”

Players, he said, have enough on their hands trying to tame golf’s toughest test without having to deal with a nicotine fit.

San Diego has banned smoking at its beaches, city parks and municipal golf courses, but has given an exemption to players and caddies that are on the course at the U.S. Open.