Casey Martin (born June 2, 1972) is an American

professional golfer A professional golfer is somebody who receives payments or financial rewards in the sport of golf that are directly related to their skill or reputation. A person who earns money by teaching or playing golf is traditionally considered a "golf pr ...

and the current men's golf head coach at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Early life

Martin was born in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

and still resides there. He was educated at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he was initiated into the

Sigma Chi Sigma Chi () International Fraternity is one of the largest North American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternities. The fraternity has 244 active undergraduate chapters and 152 alumni chapters across the United States and Canada and has ...

fraternity and was briefly a teammate of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

. He was a three-time all

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

and was a member of the university's

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

team in 1994. He won the 1993

Sahalee Players Championship The Sahalee Players Championship is an annual amateur golf tournament. It has been played since 1992 at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington. The event was not played from 2020 to 2022 and returned in 2023 as a collegiate event. Winn ...

, and turned professional in 1995.

Professional golf career

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, he won a

Nike Tour Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

(later named the Buy.com Tour, Nationwide Tour, Web.com Tour, and now

Korn Ferry Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

) event, the

Lakeland Classic The Lakeland Classic was a golf tournament on the Buy.com Tour from 1997 to 2000. It was played at Grasslands Golf & Country Club in Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 ea ...

, in a playoff, thus assuring himself of remaining on the tour the following year and securing a five-year exemption from the first round of

Qualifying School In professional golf, the term qualifying school is used for the annual qualifying tournaments for leading golf tours such as the U.S.-based PGA and LPGA Tours and the European Tour. A fixed number of players in the event win membership of the ...

(Q-School). Also in 1998, he attained a career highlight by finishing tied for 23rd at the

U.S. Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

, and briefly contending for the lead before falling back. In late 1999, by finishing 14th on the Nike Tour money list, Martin secured a spot on the PGA Tour. He finished 179th on the money list in 2000 and failed to keep his card through his earnings on the PGA Tour. As a PGA Tour cardholder for 2000, he began at the final stage of that year's Q-School, but narrowly failed to keep his spot (finishing tied for 37th, when the top 35 and ties qualified), relegating him to the Buy.com Tour. Martin kept full status on the Nike Tour through 2003, but failed to make the Q-School finals in 2003, relegating him to a limited status in 2004, a year in which he played nine tournaments. In 2004, following the expiration of his five-year exemption from the first round of Q-School, he advanced from the first to the second of the three rounds but no further, and only had limited status in 2005, playing nine tournaments on the tour and making two cuts. He played five events in 2006, making the cut once, for a total earnings of $1,328. On June 4, 2012, Martin qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open, winning a sectional at Emerald Valley Golf Club.

Coaching career

In May 2006, Martin was named head coach of the

's men's golf team in his hometown of Eugene, after working as a volunteer assistant during the 2006 season. He has indicated he hopes to continue to play, where it fits in with his coaching schedule. However, he did not play any professional events or attempt Q-School in 2007 or 2008. Oregon won the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship.

Personal life

Martin has

Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome Klippel–Trénaunay syndrome, formerly Klippel–Trénaunay–Weber syndrome and sometimes angioosteohypertrophy syndrome and hemangiectatic hypertrophy, is a rare congenital medical condition in which blood vessels and/or lymph vessels fail to f ...

, which has caused a

birth defect A birth defect is an abnormal condition that is present at birth, regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can range from mild to severe. Birth de ...

in his right leg. In '' PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin'', Martin successfully sued the

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

in 2001 for the right to use a

golf cart A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...

during competition under the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

. During the years that the suit wound through the courts, he enjoyed limited success on the golf course, and throughout, was permitted to use a golf cart. In October 2019, while attempting to retrieve a garbage can from the street he lived on, he misjudged a step between the street, which was under construction, and his curb, breaking his defective leg. He took a medical leave from coaching during the Ducks' fall 2019 golf schedule, with assistant Brad Lanning taking over until he returned to campus for the spring season (which was ultimately shortened due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

). Because his condition has prevented his fracture from properly healing, he has used crutches since returning to campus. In a March 2020 interview with ''

The Register-Guard ''The Register-Guard'' is a daily newspaper in the northwestern United States, published in Eugene, Oregon. It was formed in a 1930 merger of two Eugene papers, the ''Eugene Daily Guard'' and the ''Morning Register''. The paper serves the Eugene ...

'', the daily newspaper for Oregon's home of

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

, Martin said about the prospect of losing his leg, "I was grateful that I was able to hold it off for a long time. I thought it would happen at 27 not 47. But it has happened. I'm just going to do everything in my power to save my leg." He added that he had considered an amputation, recognizing that a prosthesis would enable him to walk without pain, but noted, "If I lose my leg, it would be an above-the-knee deal, and it's pretty risky for my situation anyway. It's something that I've recognized could happen, but I would really rather not, if I could save it, because of the risks." At the time of the interview, Martin was scheduled to travel to Washington state to be fitted for a special carbon-fiber leg brace that could potentially redirect his body weight in a way that would allow the fracture to heal. In October 2021, Martin underwent successful surgery to amputate his right leg. His doctors believed that the surgery went well enough to allow him the future use of a prosthesis.

Professional wins (1)

Nike Tour wins (1)

Nike Tour playoff record (0–1)

Results in major championships

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
''Note: Casey only played in the U.S. Open.''

Web.com Tour results

PGA Tour results

References

External links

*
Casey Martin Bio at University of Oregon Athletics site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Casey American male golfers Oregon Ducks men's golf coaches Stanford Cardinal men's golfers PGA Tour golfers Korn Ferry Tour graduates American amputees Golfers from Eugene, Oregon 1972 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen