Casey Martin will not win at the Olympic Club this week and it will come as a surprise if he makes the cut. The former PGA Tour professional does not play competitively these days, though he made an exception when it came to the 2012 US Open.
"I wouldn't have done it anywhere else… It would be a fun story but don't hold your breath," the 40-year-old from Oregon said before teeing off in the final qualifying event for what the US Golf Association likes to call golf's toughest test. Thirty-six holes at Emerald Valley in Oregon and 138 shots later, Martin secured a spot in the field at San Francisco's Olympic Club, the venue for his only previous appearance in a major championship and the setting for one of golf's most controversial moments.
Fourteen years ago, Martin was one of the most famous golfers in America, a great player in his own right who found greater celebrity after suing the PGA Tour for the right to use a golf cart while competing against the world's best players. These days he is the coach of the University of Oregon golf team but in his prime was good enough to make the field when the US Open was last played here in San Francisco in 1998.
At one stage in the tournament he found his way on to the leaderboard before dropping back to finish in a tie for 23rd. Given the furore that surrounded his use of a golf cart – it was more of a scooter in reality – during the tournament, his performance could not be described as anything less than sensational.
Martin suffers from circulatory disorder in his right leg that has left him with a pronounced limp and an inability to walk long distances. After a garlanded career in college golf – he played at Stanford University alongside Tiger Woods – he earned his way on to the PGA Tour through the qualifying school only to find his path blocked when officials denied him the right to use a golf cart, arguing it would give him an unfair advantage. He sued and the case went all the way to the supreme court, with many of the sport's biggest names, including Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, testifying on behalf of the PGA Tour.
"I think part of the game of golf, and the tradition and integrity, is being able to walk and compete," Nicklaus argued in a deposition to the court. Few within the sport sided with Martin, with even the founder of the Association of Disabled American Golfers steering a curiously neutral course. "Casey deserves to have the opportunity to try to make a living," said the association's Greg Jones. "At the same time, if he has a cart and it's 100 degrees and 90% humidity, there certainly is the potential to change the competitive nature of the game."
In the end the supreme court sided with Martin, ruling in 2001 that he could use his cart. "What it can be said to do, on the other hand, is to allow Martin the chance to qualify for and compete in the athletic events [the PGA Tour] offers to those members of the public who have the skill and desire to enter," Justice John Paul Stevens wrote. In other words, people with a disability have rights, even in professional sport.
The establishment was unrepentant. "Someone else along the line will use this, I promise you," Nicklaus said. "It will happen. There'll be another mess some place."
Nicklaus and the other traditionalists were wrong. No one else has applied to use a cart on the PGA Tour. That is probably just as well, given the logistical difficulties outlined by Martin in a 2008 interview. "The biggest stress wasn't in the courtroom, or talking to the media, feeling the occasional bad vibe from people, worrying about my leg, or trying to keep my game together. It was dealing with the cart," he said.
"Inching my way through crowds, looking for a place to get out and duck under the ropes, driving ahead and waiting for the other players to catch up – that was stressful. I found the logistics of riding in that environment to be very difficult, especially when there were 20,000 people out there. I never did find the knack for concentrating or getting into a rhythm and I'm not sure it was even possible. Walking is the best way to play this game."
Over the intervening years, the majority of those who opposed Martin's use of the cart, the likes of Paul Azinger and Curtis Strange, have recanted and apologised for their previous views.
As for those who have yet to make their peace, they will get the chance this week. Martin, as ever, is not interested in keeping old enmities alive. He is interested only in playing golf. "I'll be nervous," he said of the week ahead. "It's really hard. I want to be excited but I know when I get on the first tee, it's going to be difficult."
The Disease that Put Golfer Casey Martin in a Cart...
Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome
Little attention has been paid to the disease itself, Klippel- Trenaunay-Weber (KTW) syndrome, which is the reason why Casey Martin needs to ride in a golf cart. The press has recycled phrases such as "a congenital circulatory disorder."
What is this disease with the unwieldy, easily-forgotten name? Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber (KTW) syndrome?
Among the key abnormalities in KTW syndrome is the triad of asymmetric limb hypertrophy, hemangiomata, and nevi. We'll take each of these components, one at a time.
By "asymmetric limb hypertrophy" is meant enlargement of one limb and not the corresponding limb on the other side. The enlarged limb is three times more likely to be a leg and not an arm in KTW. However, KTW is a somewhat erratic condition, one that is loath to follow hard and fast rules so that, for example, upon occasion there is enlargement of two limbs or a buttock or part of the trunk of the body. The enlargement is always not just of soft tissue but of bone, too.
The hemangiomas (or, to use the proper Greek ending, hemangiomata) are abnormal nests of blood vessels. The vessels proliferate inappropriately and excessively. In KTW, the hemangiomas cover a remarkable range from small innocuous capillary hemangiomas ("strawberry marks") to huge cavernous hemangiomas. There can be sinuous varicosities, what are called "phlebectasia" and "telangiectasia", and so on -- an astounding array of vascular lesions.
The nevi are the third component of the triad of "asymmetric limb hypertrophy, hemangiomata, and nevi." The nevi are pigmented moles on the skin. In KTW there are often also dark linear streaks on the skin, streaks due to too much pigment.
KTW does not always consist merely of the triad of "asymmetric limb hypertrophy, hemangiomata, and nevi." There can be other, far less frequent abnormalities. However, the triad is the consistent clinical centerpiece of KTW.
What is the basic defect in Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber syndrome?
It is not completely known, but some researches believe part of the defect is related to the control of angiogenic cells (precursors of blood vessels). Others believe it is caused by some injury to the developing embryo within the womb, resulting in venous compression and resultant abnormal venous pressures, causing varicosities and limb enlargement. In other words, we don't currently know the precise events that lead to the development of Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber.
What causes Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber syndrome?
Most cases of Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber are sporadic. They occur without warning, with no prior case in the family; however recently there have been some cases that run in families.
What is the prognosis (outlook) with Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber syndrome?
Most persons with Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber have an enlarged leg and they do relatively well without any significant treatment. It can be helpful to wear compression stockings to prevent venous pooling in the affected extremity (varicose vein management). However, some Klippel-Trènaunay-Weber patients do have considerable pain. Skin ulcers, infections and other skin problems can occur, but usually the treatment is conservative. Surgery is almost never needed.