Hacking away
W hile eating breakfast the other day, I realized the time had come to change my diet from waffle to crow. I've finally come around fully on Casey Martin. Martin ruling could
affect Manoa CupIn 1998 I sided staunchly with the PGA suits and the rules-are-rules crowd. I agreed the guy shouldn't play unless he could walk the course.
Hey, I argued, if Rocky Bleier could win a Super Bowl ring with a landmine-mangled foot, if Jim Abbott could pitch a no-hitter with one arm, Martin could win the Masters with a single functional leg -- and no cart. If he was good enough.
Over the years, with every new story of Martin's courage and humility and medical condition, I've become enlightened.
And I acquired some real-life perspective Tuesday at Oahu Country Club.
As they humped the steep and rain-soaked fairways, how could Manoa Cup competitors not think about that other slippery slope -- the previous week's Supreme Court ruling allowing Martin use of a cart?
After all, this is where tradition dictates all players walk enough hills to intimidate an Alpine guide. On some days they trudge up to 36 holes.
Michelle Wie, 11, can't operate a car legally, but she can still drive nearly 300 yards. She broke age and gender barriers at what used to be called the state men's amateur match play championship.
Still, because she lost in the first round, Wie's incredible story quickly went on hold until the next tournament, where she will undoubtedly accomplish more precocious feats.
The focus became the drenching -- and otherwise sane men waddling around in it, whacking golf balls through ever-expanding puddles.
Would carts have sped up play so that the second round could have been completed?
"That's a good question. Maybe, maybe not," said Eric Molina, 42, who made it to the third round.
"But I think they should allow carts anyway. Especially for us old guys."
EVERY GOLFER I talked to that day said he would be proud to have a player with Martin's courage -- and disability -- in the tournament. And, sure, give him a cart, even if we can't have them, they said.
Brandan Kop has been thrown into the OCC swimming pool four times. That's what happens to you when you win the Manoa Cup.
He loves the traditions and quirkiness of Hawaii's oldest tournament.
But he also loves underdogs.
"An unfair advantage? I don't think so," Kop said. "If he were to play this course (with a cart), it would be worse for him than it is for us walking.
"But I can see both sides, and it should be case-by-case. The walking is what makes (the Manoa Cup) special."
Some year, a genuinely disabled golfer with the talent to qualify will want to take on the hills of lower Nuuanu and the state's best amateurs.
My guess is the officials, without a blink, will issue him or her a cart. Tradition will take a hit, but the Manoa Cup will become even more special.
Star-Bulletin sportswriter Dave Reardon has covered the Manoa Cup (in a cart) many times over the past 20 years. He can be reached at: dreardon@starbulletin.com
Dave Reardon, who covered sports in Hawaii from 1977 to 1998,
moved to the the Gainesville Sun, then returned to
the Star-Bulletin in Jan. 2000.
E-mail Dave: dreardon@starbulletin.com