Pro golfer Casey Martin is afflicted with a debilitating circulatory disease that makes it difficult for him to walk or stand for long periods of time. Having a medically documented disability, Martin asked for a waiver allowing him to use a golf cart.

The PGA refused and Martin took them to court. After a year long court battle the decision came down based on the Americans with Disabilities Act that Martin, and only Martin, would be allowed the use of a golf cart while playing in PGA sponsored tournaments.

The first tournament after the ruling was the Nike Tour's Greater Austin Open held in Lakeway, TX in March of 1998. While under extreme pressure from the media, fans and even fellow players, Martin demonstrated to the world he is a complete gentleman. He never failed to sign an autograph and offer a smile along with some friendly chat to the fans who asked. He even took time to offer encouragement to a Dallas area boy with the same disease.

Even with the help of a golf cart, Martin finished the tournament with a 16th place 288. The last two days of play was especially hard for all concerned with with high winds and tornado warnings in the area on Saturday and unseasonably cold weather with high winds on Sunday.

KVUE sports reporter David “D. J.” Johnson (Center) gets ESPN Golf Expert Jimmy Roberts’ take on the Martin situation. KVUE sports photographer Kenny Kaplan shoots the interview.

A small press conference with Martin.

This employee of the NBC affiliate in Austin is not using a large lap top computer. She is editing video tape on Panasonic’s DVCPRO digital editing system.  It has twin LCD color monitors, stereo sound and time code displays. It is roughly twice the size of a lap top computer and does just about everything the full size analog edit bays do. The new digital television format is on the way and this unit is just the beginning.