again, and to be here under a little
different cover from the last time when
it was all about the cart, it’s very good
[for him],” said King. “There’s a feeling
of reconciliation.”
So much has happened to Casey
Martin in the last 14 years, yet so
little has changed. His brittle right
leg remains a constant source of
discomfort, the circulatory disorder
Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome
making the simple act of getting out of
bed each morning a trying pursuit.
followed his younger brother all after-
noon. “I think the controversy is gone.
It shows the PGA, who thought there
would be a slippery slope, was wrong.
He didn’t enjoy going through all that,
but I think he set a good example.”
“It goes in cycles,” said Casey when
asked about the health of his leg.
“There’s days where I’m OK and I get
around, and then there’s days where
the switch turns and it’s quite painful.”
Seemingly, though, he remains at
peace with it all, even the fact that the
disability essentially squashed any
hopes of having a meaningful playing
career after one year on
the PGA Tour and seven
on the Nationwide Tour.
“It would be so easy
for him to be bitter,” said
Tiger Woods, Martin’s
former college teammate
who joined him during
their Tuesday practice
round. “I think that’s
what makes him special,
so different from every-
body else. He has such a
That trait was ac-
knowledged through the
encouraging applause
Martin received from
the galleries as he made his way
around the course. Not long after
he teed off, it became evident the
question of how fair it was for him to
be allowed to use a cart, the one that
overwhelmed him in the late 1990s,
was no longer relevant.
Martin insisted the reaction of
the crowd was the same as always,
respectful and gracious. Others,
though, suggested otherwise. “It’s
different,” said Cameron Martin, who
In that respect the day had a celebra-
tory feel. Along with Cameron, King and
Casey’s mother, Melinda, there were
more than a dozen friends and family
watching their own private hero enjoy
a curtain call. Oregon football coach
Chip Kelly led the “Quack Attack” as
he enjoyed a bit of a role reversal. Kelly
once had Martin select the uniform
combination his team wore. Returning
the favor, Kelly was in charge of Martin’s
threads at Olympic Club, explaining the
lightning yellow shirt he wore Friday.
As he returned to the course, his
competitive instincts resurfaced. He
started slowly, making bogeys on five
of his first six holes (“My
nerves were horrible”).
Yet he played the last 12
in one under and could
have gone even lower had
a few seemingly make-
able putts fallen, a 15-foot
eagle try from just off the
green on the 17th and 10-
foot birdie run on the 18th
missing the mark.
Martin missed a
20-footer for par on his
final hole Friday for a 75,
leaving him at nine-over
149. He missed the cut by
one stroke.
“It’s flattering to be
here and to get attention, but as a
competitor I’m disappointed,” Martin
said. “These are experiences that don’t
come around very often, to get to play
in a U.S. Open in these conditions.”
Asked if he might try to qualify for
next year’s Open, Martin didn’t rule
it out. Yet in all likelihood this was his
last time playing on the big stage. It’s a
fact he seemed good with, no doubt because his time at Olympic Club turned
out to be one more memorable ride.
by the
numbeRs
e Michael Thompson took
22 putts in his opening 66,
making seven birdies for a
three-stroke lead over five
players. … Tiger Woods was
one of four players to hit 10 of
14 fairways, but Francesco
Molinari was more impressive. The Italian hit 12 fairways
en route to a one-over 71. …
Only 34 percent of the field
hit the green in regulation
on the 670-yard, par- 5 16th
hole. The hole had an average
of 5.564. Only hole No. 1 was
tougher ( 4.583).
Notebook
RepoRteR’s
By Jim Moriarty
Even though he shot a first-round 76,
Matt Bettencourt’s U.S. Open got off
to a perfect start thanks to his buddy
Matt Cain, the San Francisco Giants
ace, who threw one at visiting Houston
Wednesday night at AT&T Park.
Cain struck out 14 Astros on the way
to pitching a perfect game, winning
10-0. He tied Sandy Koufax, who had
the same number of Ks when he struck
out the last six Chicago Cubs he faced
in his perfect game in 1965.
The feat was a first for the Giants
franchise founded in 1883, 12 years
before the first U.S. Open. In case you’re
interested, though, Willie Fernie was
the British Open champion that year,
ending the three-year reign of Robert
Ferguson who began his streak in
1880, one of three years major league
baseball has had two perfect games in
one season.
Bettencourt, who has partnered with
Cain the last two years at the AT&T
Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, was
supposed to be at the game with his
caddie, Reiner Binsfeld, but since they
were second off the ninth tee at 7: 11 the
next morning, they decided not to use
their box-seat tickets.
As the game progressed, Bettencourt and Cain’s wife, Chelsea, began
trading text messages after every out.
It’s uncertain whether the one that
came after Gregor Blanco’s diving catch
in centerfield is reprintable. What is
certain is that Cain called Bettencourt
from the dugout after the celebration
died down, just before he had to go
meet the media. That afternoon Bettencourt had left a new driver at Cain’s
digs in the city. The 27-year-old pitcher,
by the way, routinely launches a golf
ball in excess of 300 yards. “And effortlessly,” says Bettencourt. The driver was
delivered with a note attached predicting a no-hitter.
