PGA Tour veteran, former NCAA Champion and Eugene native Casey Martin is in his fourth season as head coach. He has infused his winning ways into the Oregon program after guiding the Ducks to back-to-back NCAA Championship appearance for the first time in a decade.

Martin possesses extensive golf experience both on and off the course that rivals that of any coach in the Pac-10.

A graduate of South Eugene High School, Martin was a three time all-conference selection and a two-time All-American while golfing at Stanford. In 1995, he received academic All-American honors while graduating from Stanford with a degree in economics. He was a member of the 1994 Stanford team that won the NCAA championship.

He has played professionally since 1998 and earned his PGA Tour card in 2000. During that year, he recorded five top-50 finishes. His best showing was a tie for 17th at the Tucson Open. Other career highlights include his performance at the 1998 U.S. Open, where, after qualifying individually, he finished in a tie for 23rd.

Although still active in selected professional golf tournaments around the country, Martin is now more focused on his coaching. In the fall of 2006, the Ducks finished first in the Northwest Collegiate Classic. It was Martin’s first victory as head coach in only his second tournament. And then in the spring of 2007, Oregon won the Thunderbird Invitational at Arizona State for the first time in school history. Prior to becoming head coach, he served as a volunteer assistant for the Ducks during the 2005-06 season.

The 37-year-old Martin is also known for his court battle with the PGA Tour over the right to use a golf cart in competition. Martin suffers from a birth defect in his right leg known as Klippel-Trenaunay-Webber Syndrome, a congenital circulatory disorder. Under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Martin won the right to use a golf cart in a legal case with the PGA that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

His efforts in that landmark case earned him the 1998 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to a competitor who continues to be active in golf despite a physical handicap. In 2001, Nike began bestowing an annual Casey Martin Award to recognize a disabled athlete.

Martin, whose brother Cameron was a member of Oregon’s golf team in the early 1990s, has also been named Time magazine person of the week (2001) and New Mobility magazine person of the year (2002).

He is the ninth man to hold the head coaching position at the University of Oregon

Martin’s love of golf, Eugene and the University of Oregon have made him a perfect fit for the UO golf program. Having learned many invaluable lessons throughout his playing days, Martin is now eager to pass them on to Oregon’s players.