Another Golfer Finds Ball Is in His Court

Ford Olinger isn’t ready to claim victory over the U.S. Golf Assn. after a Supreme Court ruling Monday, but he feels it’s pretty close.

“Until I see it in writing from the appellate court saying, ‘OK, Ford, you win,’ we still have to hold a little skepticism,” said Olinger, who has a degenerative condition in both hips. “But we’re definitely glad that Casey [Martin] won, and it’s looking a lot better for us.”

The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court in Chicago that denied Olinger’s request that he be allowed to use a cart in U.S. Open qualifying.

The justices instructed the appeals court to resolve the dispute in light of the Supreme Court’s decision last week in the Martin case. In that case, the justices ruled a cart is a reasonable way to accommodate Martin’s disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act. That ruling applies to the PGA Tour.

Olinger’s attorney, John Hamilton, said Monday’s ruling doesn’t mean the appeals court has to rule in Olinger’s favor.

“It certainly is good news. It means that the court has to take a close look at the facts in this case and see if there is some reason for distinguishing Casey Martin’s case from this case,” Hamilton said. “I would not be so presumptuous to say that it’s a lay down.”

Marty Parkes, USGA senior director of communications, said he could not comment specifically on the Supreme Court ruling because the USGA had not yet seen it. But he said the golf association plans to abide by the Martin decision and is looking at devising a mechanism to help determine which players will be eligible to use carts.

“It seems like the decision last week was a fairly narrow decision as far as Casey Martin’s case. It seems like the main yardstick they’ve come to is that it has to be a permanent condition,” Parkes said.

The 34-year-old Olinger has avascular necrosis, an ailment of the hips that makes walking painful. Olinger said he expects someday to be confined to a wheelchair because of his condition.

Martin, whose blood flow to his right leg is restricted, leaving it withered and causing intense pain, first sued the PGA Tour on Nov. 26, 1997, and has consistently won his court decisions. A year after Martin filed his lawsuit, Olinger received a temporary injunction allowing him to use a cart during U.S. Open qualifying in 1998. But he did not qualify for the sectional, shooting a 12-over 83 in a local qualifier.

Since then, Olinger has consistently lost in court.