Martin in US Open, 14 years after carting controversy

American Casey Martin, who made history in 1998 by being allowed to use a golf cart to play in the US Open, will be back at the Olympic Club in San Francisco next week after winning a qualifying event.

The 40-year-old suffers from Klippel Trenaunay Weber syndrome, a birth defect in his right leg, and successfully sued the PGA Tour in 2001 for the right to use a cart in competition. He has not played professionally for six years and is now the University of Oregon men’s golf coach.

“I don’t play golf, really,” said Martin. “Going back to the US Open? It’s surreal. I think there will be a lot of attention, but controversy no. We’ve been through all of that.”

Martin made a five-foot par putt on his last hole to earn his spot next week at Olympic, where in 1998 he tied for 23rd while riding in his cart.

Meanwhile, US captain Davis Love III won’t have to watch potential Ryder Cup players on television at the US Open. He’ll be playing alongside them. Love qualified for the third time in the past six years, with a two-under 139 at Scioto Country Club and Ohio State’s Scarlet Course.

Love, who finished tied for 16th at the Memorial on Sunday, said it never crossed his mind to go home rather than extend an already long week by playing 36 more holes.

“No. Like last year, statistically I hit the ball well enough at the US and the British to win,” he said. “I definitely want to play.”

The 48-year-old Love has won 20 tournaments around the world, including the 1997 PGA Championship.

He continues to play well, despite injuries, family obligations and an entire generation of younger players.

He and Martin were among 16 players to qualify from the biggest of the 11 sectional qualifying sites across the US on Monday.

Love, 48, will be making his 23rd appearance in his national open. Others who qualified from Scioto and Scarlet included medalist Charlie Wi, Kevin Streelman, DA Points, Rod Pampling and Steve Marino, who only last week returned from a four-month break to recover from a bad shoulder.

Love still hasn’t forgotten the details from a year ago, however, when he three-putted the last hole he played at Colonial, which cost him an automatic spot in the Open at Congressional. He had to go through qualifying to get in the field.

“I seem to play well in the qualifying because I don’t have a scoreboard to look at,” he said. “You just play.”

Love has been in captain mode on and off since being selected for the matches this fall. He has been assessing potential players for the American side and has played with several. One of them, former Open champion Ben Curtis, was in his threesome, although Curtis faded on his second 18 and failed to make the US Open field.

Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day came as darkness was falling at Scioto Country Club. On the fourth playoff hole to decide the last qualifiers, 42-year-old Youngstown, Ohio, teaching pro Dennis Miller’s 20-foot putt from the fringe stopped on the lip of the cup. After the gallery of a few hundred groaned and Miller slowly started to walk to his ball, it fell – touching off a huge celebration.

Now Miller, a third alternate whose name did not even appear on the tee sheet, will be playing in his first US Open – and will likely have to get someone to fill in for him back at the course at Mill Creek Metroparks in Youngstown. “I can’t believe what just happened,” Miller said. “That was pretty incredible.”

Among those who did not qualify were two of the contenders at Jack Nicklaus’s tournament. Rory Sabbatini shot a 70 in his first 18 at Scarlet, but sagged to a 76 in the afternoon to fall short. Spencer Levin, who could have earned an automatic berth in the US Open had he finished in the top two instead of tying for fourth at the Memorial, followed a 72 at Scioto with a 74 at Scarlet.