U.S. golfer: I smoked pot during tournaments

Robert Garrigus, who finished tied for third earlier this month at the U.S. Open, admitted that he used to smoke pot during golf tournaments, Golf Digest reported.

Garrigus, who struggled with drug and alcohol abuse earlier in his career, said that he - and other golfers - would sneak off the course mid-round on the Nationwide tour (the PGA's development tour) in the early 2000s.

"Oh yeah, there were plenty of guys on the Nationwide Tour who smoked in the middle of the round," Garrigus said. "We always talked about it. You could go in the Porta John and take your drags."

According to Golf Digest, Garrigus became mired in drugs and alcohol while at college in Arizona.

"The smoking got to be habitual: five, 10, maybe 20 times a day," he said. "I didn't keep track of how much. I constantly needed to be high. And I took it to the max. Every single day. Mostly just smoking, smoking, smoking."

Garrigus credits a 45-day rehab in 2003 for turning his life around. It also seemed to resurrect his golf game. He won his first PGA Tour title last year at the Children's Miracle Network Classic and this year, on one of golf's biggest stages, he shot four consecutive subpar rounds to finish tied for third at the U.S. Open.

The 33-year-old acknowledged that his drug-fueled lifestyle a decade ago was "stupid" but said he wouldn't change anything.

"I don't regret any of it because it put me on the path I'm on now," he said. "If I can help just one person by sharing what I've gone through, then it's worth it."