Casey Martin, who sued PGA Tour over cart use, loses right leg to amputation

Casey Martin, who won a Supreme Court case against the PGA Tour over the use of a cart, had his right leg amputated above the knee on Friday, according to Golf Digest. 

Martin, born with a circulatory disorder that weakened the leg, is recovering at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and his older brother, Cameron Martin, told Golf Digest that he is expected to be fitted for a prosthesis. Martin had broken the leg in an accident two years ago, and it never healed properly.   

In 2000, Martin played his only full season on the PGA Tour. He had sued the PGA Tour over denying him the opportunity to ride in a motorized cart in tournaments, and in 2001, the Supreme Court ruled in his favor. 

Over his career, Martin would play in two U.S. Opens, tying for 23rd in 1998 and missing the cut in 2012, which would be the last Tour event he’d play. In 2000, Martin played in 29 events, made 14 cuts and finished as high as a tie for 17th, at the Tucson Open. 

In 2006, Martin was hired as the men’s golf coach at the University of Oregon, and in 2016, the Ducks won the national championship. According to Golf Digest, assistant coach and former Tour player Jeff Quinney will coach the team in Martin’s absence. 

Before turning professional, Martin was a college teammate of both Tiger Woods and Notah Begay at Stanford, and the Cardinal won the national title with Martin and Begay in 1994. 

“In many ways, I exceeded what my doctors told me as a kid,” Martin recently told Golf Digest over his decision to undergo the surgery. “I always felt this would be my destiny. So while it’s weird to be here now, about to become seriously disfigured, it’s not unexpected.”