Casey Martin Swings and Drives Way Back to the U.S. Open

It’s often tough to give the TV guys props. But the Golf Channel got it right. The U.S. Open sectional qualifiers all added up magnificently to the motto “Longest Day In Golf.”

But beyond the desire to tell viewers how hard they were working, halfway through the day one or more of the announcers could have had a little fun.

The catch phrase of the day could have changed to “Best Day In golf.” Or, it could have been the “Most Unheralded Day In Golf.”

Certainly, both slogans began to unfold early in Creswell, Ore. A field of 37 — the smallest of the sectionals around the country — started in the rain at 7 a.m. More than 13 hours later in near darkness, Casey Martin emerged as medalist.

Casey Martin

Yes, that Casey Martin. He’s age 40 now. And he’s 14 years removed from his debut at the U.S. Open at the same Olympic Club in San Francisco where he played with cart, after a contentious battle with golf’s hierarchy, and finished 23rd.

Martin suffers from Klippel Trenaunay Weber syndrome, a birth defect in his right leg. Basically, he drags his right leg. He successfully sued the PGA Tour in 2001 for the right to use a golf cart during competition under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But Martin, who hasn’t played professionally since 2006, is mostly known as the head golf coach at the University of Oregon. But awhile back he decided to try to qualify again as a part-time player who spends more time coaching and recruiting than worrying about the past or honing his skills.

But Martin’s still got game. He was in the last group on Monday, leading the qualifier by one stroke. It was few minutes before nightfall. There were maybe 30 people on the 18th hole at Emerald Valley Golf Club watching. Martin had about 45 feet for a two-putt par to keep his lead. He left a four-footer with his first effort. And then he sealed his return to the U.S. Open with a putt toward a hole he said he couldn’t see.

It was a day of stuff like that, most notably on the eighth hole of Martin’s second round. He couldn’t find his errant tee shot and was about to return to the tee. His caddie found the ball at the last second, ironically resting under a golf cart. Martin punched it out and then sank a 30-foot chip from over bunker. What could have been a double bogey became a birdie.

“I had a kind of peace,” Martin later told reporters, explaining the hole. “Like something’s going on here.”

What is going on now is that more than a decade after the highest court in the country said he could use a cart in competition, Martin is going to use it again in the country’s national championship.

All those years ago, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, golf’s elder sentinels, spoke out against players using carts on the PGA Tour. They weren’t against Martin, but in favor, they said, of the maintaining the traditions of golf. It was hard to see the difference.

What is easier to see is that Martin can still play golf, and he’s now about to play again with the sport’s best. I can’t wait for someone to interview Nicklaus or Palmer, and I can’t wait for the U.S. Open. It’s likely going to again be the “Best Week in Golf,” and now there’s one more reason.