The Supreme Court in late May ended a nearly four-year fight between professional golfer Casey Martin and the PGA ("The Drive to Win," May/June 1998), upholding two lower court rulings that allowed Martin to ride a cart in competition. Martin, '94, who suffers from a rare circulatory disorder in his right leg that makes walking painful and potentially dangerous, has been riding a cart in tournament play since 1998, when a U.S. magistrate ruled in his favor.
The high court's 7-2 decision was praised by Martin's supporters, including former Stanford teammate Notah Begay III, '95. "What I am most happy about is that he can now focus on what he does best, which is playing golf, and hopefully go out and regain his status on the PGA Tour," Begay told the Associated Press.
Martin has struggled on the course. He finished 179th on the PGA money list in 2000 and currently is playing on the second-tier buy.com tour. Wally Goodwin, Martin's coach at Stanford, believes the court fight hurt Martin's game. "He's the toughest kid I've ever known in my life," Goodwin told the San Jose Mercury News. "I know him well enough to know it's had a huge effect on him."
