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'Party time' After long legal battle, Martin celebrates ruling
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- A cell phone woke Casey Martin from a peaceful sleep Tuesday morning, an irritating start to the day. Then he realized the hour -- 7:25 in Eugene, Ore., about the time the U.S. Supreme Court releases its decisions. When his home phone rang minutes later, Martin was patched through to PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and heard two words he wasn't expecting. "You prevailed." The Supreme Court voted 7-2 to allow Martin to ride a cart in PGA Tour competition because of the fierce pain in his right leg, the result of a circulatory disease that makes it virtually impossible for him to walk 18 holes. "I feel relieved, and I'm grateful it's behind me," Martin said. "There's no guarantee that golf will be in my future forever, but I can always look back and know I prevailed through this." So ended a 3 1/2-year saga that pitted Martin against the powerful PGA Tour and its contention that walking is an integral part of golf at its highest level. But while a victory for Martin figured to be a big setback for the PGA Tour, and perhaps other sports and their right to set the rules, Finchem said the ruling could turn out to be a victory for both sides. "I was pleased that the court concluded this should be an extremely narrow ruling, a ruling that also went so far as to suggest in rather strong language that this could be the only player in the world that it ever applies to," Finchem said. "We can assume we now have flexibility to maintain our rules as they relate to walking. I feel much better than I thought I would if you had told me a few days ago we were going to lose." Martin has Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome, a disorder than causes his veins to rupture and fill the cavities around his tibia with blood. Tiger Woods, his former teammate at Stanford, recalled times when Martin didn't even want to walk across the room to the bathroom because the pain was so great. Still, the tour held fast to its rule that top golf competition requires a player to chase after the ball with two legs -- even though Martin essentially was playing with only one. Their evidence was in the history books. Ben Hogan was nearly killed in a 1949 car crash, had to wear stockings to reduce the swelling but managed to walk 36 holes in the final round to the win the U.S. Open a year later. Ken Venturi, who testified against Martin, had to overcome severe heat exhaustion to win the 1964 U.S. Open. Jose Maria Olazabal missed 18 months because of a severe foot injury and feared he would never walk again, but he recovered to win the Masters. Martin said having a cart at his disposal since 1998 has prolonged his career. "I think I'm in less pain today than I was 3 1/2 years ago when I was walking quite a bit," he said. "My leg hasn't improved to that I'm able to forgo the cart, but it's been a help that I thought it would be." Martin, who played on the PGA Tour last year but is now relegated to the minor-league Buy.com Tour, used to wonder how much longer he would be allowed to play with the cart. Now he wonders how much longer his bad leg will allow him to play. "Just because I won the decision doesn't mean I'll play golf the next 25 years," the 28-year-old Martin said. "It's one big hurdle, but I still have others to go through. This is a big win for me, but it's not the end of the line. The end of the story is not written." The PGA Tour is left to sort through the Supreme Court decision and figure out what it means to the next player -- if there is one -- who demands a cart in competition. Finchem said the PGA Tour board would study its ramifications over the next month, but he seemed hopeful there would be little change. "If in the future we are able to work within the structure of this opinion and be successful in maintaining walking as an integral part of the sport at the PGA Tour level, then I would definitely say it's a win-win," Finchem said. Was that just the PGA Tour's spin doctors at work? Martin's lawyer, Roy Reardon, agreed it could come down to assessing each golfer who asks for a cart under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He only wonders at what cost the PGA Tour achieved that, taking Martin through two additional rounds of legal wrangling and suffering a public relations nightmare along the way. "He could have had this win-win a long time ago by simply agreeing to give Casey a pass," Reardon said. "It is a win for Casey and for the disabled, and it's not as hurtful as the PGA was predicting." Neither Martin nor Reardon believes other sports will be affected. Other golfers who have sued for the right to ride a cart, such as Indiana club pro Ford Olinger who lost his lawsuit against the USGA. None has played even close to Martin's level. Martin qualified for the U.S. Open in 1998 and tied for 23rd, better that week than defending champion Ernie Els. He earned his PGA Tour card the next season. True, he was the only guy riding a cart. But those who wondered whether Martin had a competitive advantage only had to see him grimace and limp when he got out of the cart, fearful that one wrong step could cause his leg to snap. Martin plans to take a couple of weeks off, then resume his quest to play well enough on the Buy.com Tour to make it to the big leagues again, even if he has to return to Q-school. His legal battle is over. He no longer goes to each tournament wondering if it will be the last time he is allowed to ride, which would mean his last chance to chase his dream. "I'm prepared to play golf just like anyone else," he said. One victory for Martin cannot be denied: He no longer has to pay legal fees. "Party time at my house," Martin said. The celebration was years in the making.
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