Casey Martin is playing in the U.S. Open.

That may not seem like big news to you, but it is. In 1998 when he played in his first and only Open — at the Olympic Club — he was the cause célèbre of golf. Some people perceived him, 26 at the time, as a bad guy, although he’s a very nice guy. Some people saw him as death to golf, but clearly golf has survived.

Do you remember the deal?

He has a congenital circulatory problem in his right leg, Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome. The pain is excruciating and Martin was and still is in danger of needing part of the leg amputated.

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