WASHINGTON — Disabled golfer Casey Martin has a legal right to ride in a golf cart between shots at PGA Tour events, the Supreme Court said Monday.
In a 7-2 ruling with implications for other pro sports, the justices ruled that a federal disability-bias law requires the pro golf tour to waive its requirement that players walk the course during tournaments. That rule is not fundamental to the game of golf, the court said.
In the majority opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens said Congress intended for an organization like the PGA Tour to give consideration to disabled golfers.
Lawmakers intended that such organizations "carefully weigh the purpose, as well as the letter" of its rules before rejecting requests of disabled golfers out of hand.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the dissent, joined by fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.
"In my view today's opinion exercises a benevolent compassion that the law does not place it within our power to impose," he said.
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act bans discrimination against the disabled in public accommodations, including golf courses and entertainment sites. The law requires "reasonable modifications" for disabled people unless such changes would fundamentally alter the place or event.
That law applies to professional sports events when they are held at places of public accommodation, the justices said.
The decision upholds a lower court ruling that ordered the PGA Tour to let Martin use a cart. The lower court said using a cart would not give him an unfair advantage over his competitors.
Tour officials declined immediate comment but said a statement would be released later.
Martin has a circulatory disorder in his right leg called Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome that makes it painful for him to walk long distances. He sued the PGA Tour in 1997, saying the ADA — enacted in 1990 — gave him a right to use a cart during tour events.
Martin was a teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, and the two used to room together on road trips. Woods has said that Martin sometimes would be in so much pain that he couldn't get up to use the bathroom.
Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer have spoken against allowing any player to use a cart in elite competition to accommodate a disability. They have said that using a cart would give Martin an advantage and take away a basic part of the game: the ability to walk an 18-hole course.
Nicklaus, playing host to his annual Memorial tournament in Dublin, Ohio, declined immediate comment on the Supreme Court ruling.
Jim Furyk, a tour golfer preparing for the Memorial, said he was happy for Martin.
"I understand where the Tour's coming from and my heart goes out to Casey," Furyk said. "He's a wonderful person, he's a great guy and a great competitor. I'm happy he gets to go ahead and fulfill his dream. I understood both sides of the story. . . .
"If I was Casey I would have done the exact same thing. I'm happy for him as a person."
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Martin in March 2000. But the next day a Chicago-based federal appeals court ruled against Indiana golfer Ford Olinger, who sued the U.S. Golf Association for the right to use a cart in U.S. Open qualifying. The appeals court said a cart would change the nature of competition.
Among those supporting the PGA Tour in friend-of-the-court briefs were the Ladies Professional Golf Association and the men's pro tennis organization, the ATP Tour.
The Justice Department backed Martin, as did disability-rights groups including the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.