Fresh off of a semifinal loss at the NCAA Championships and his 40th birthday on Saturday, Casey Martin barely had time to think about his chance to qualify for the U.S. Open just two days later. And maybe that was a good thing, as Oregon’s head coach blistered his way through two full rounds on Monday at the Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell and clinched a berth at the U.S. Open for the first time since his 23rd place finish in 1998. @@http://espn.go.com/golf/usopen12/story/_/id/8010607/2012-us-open-casey-martin-qualifies-olympic-club-14-years-only-major-appearance-there@@
Martin’s final score of four-under 138 was the best in the field, as he took his place as one of two qualifiers out of Creswell (the second qualifier will be determined by a playoff Tuesday morning between Oregon’s own Daniel Miernicki and Oregon State’s Nick Sherwood). Next week’s appearance will mark a return to the U.S. Open after a controversial appearance in 1998, when Martin sued the USGA for the right to use a golf cart due to a “congenital circulatory disorder” in his right leg. @@http://www.ghintpp.com/OregonGA/TPPOnlineScoring/ResultsStroke.aspx?id=192&fid=0@@ @@http://arthritis.about.com/od/employ/a/caseymartinada.htm@@
The U.S. Open begins at Olympic Club in San Francisco on June 11. @@http://www.vividseats.com/pga-golf/us-open-tickets.html@@