Casey Martin has long feared the misstep that might complicate a condition that has affected his right leg since birth. Martin, the 49-year-old head men’s golf coach at the University of Oregon, was born with a birth defect known as Klippel-Trenaunay-Webber Syndrome, a congenital circulatory disorder that made it difficult to put weight on the leg.
In October 2019, Martin fractured his right tibia in after misjudging a step onto his street, which was under construction, while retrieving the garbage can from the curb. As a result, Golf Digest has reported that Martin underwent surgery on Oct. 15 to have the leg amputated.
“I knew this day was coming,” Martin told the Oregon Register Guard in March 2020, after the misstep that ultimately led to the procedure, “and it’s here.”
Martin spent much of the past two years wearing a cast, using crutches to walk and undergoing injections, according to Golf Digest reporting, but the tibia never healed.
“The doctors prepared us for the worst-case scenario,” Martin’s older brother Cameron, who with their father is at the clinic, told Golf Digest. “But the report is [he doctors] feel it went well, as they were able to save as much of the bone above the knee as they had hoped. This should give him a good shot at a prosthesis that will be effective.”
Jeff Quinney, a former PGA Tour pro, U.S. Amateur champion and Eugene native, is in his first season as Martin’s assistant and will assume many of Martin’s coaching duties as Martin recovers.
The Ducks have played three times this fall with their best finish a sixth-place showing at the Husky Invitational last month.
Martin was a two-time All-American at Stanford and member of its 1994 NCAA Championship squad. He played one year on the PGA Tour in 2000 and has coached Oregon for 15 seasons. Under Martin, Oregon won the NCAA title in 2016 and had a runner-up finish in 2017.
