Casey Martin’s inspiration was in the gallery, a 9-year-old boy with the same physical disability of the Nike Tour golfer.
While Martin battled the 55-degree cold and an erratic game at Austin, Texas, he took solace every time he looked over and saw Kern Loest of Richland Hills, Texas, who was riding on the broad shoulders of his father, Craig.
“He’s the first person I’ve ever met who had my disease,” Martin said. “It was good to see him.”
Although his teeth chattered from the cold, young Kern wore an autographed hat courtesy of Martin. He also wore a big smile.
He was there when Martin rallied from two early bogeys to sink a 45-foot putt on his 16th hole to get his round jump-started.
“Casey plays good,” young Kern said. “He’s nice too.”
Martin, who won a suit against the PGA Tour for the right to be using a golf cart, could have shot 80 and it wouldn’t have mattered to the young boy who followed his new hero all 18 holes.
As it was, Martin shot a second consecutive 3-under-par 69 to stay within three shots of the lead held by Brad Elder and Chris Zambri at the Greater Austin Open.
He started poorly with two bogeys on the cool day as the television cameras on The Golf Channel tracked his every move.
“I got a little flustered because it was tough to play bad with so many people rooting for you,” said Martin, who holed a 20-foot putt for birdie on his final hole. “My confidence will be up for tomorrow.”
The 45-foot birdie putt on the seventh green got Martin going after two early bogeys caused by a fat iron shot and a tee shot hooked behind a tree.
“I had a lot of people out there rooting for me today,” Martin said. “I saw a lot of kids out there and I slapped five with some of them. They got a workout, that’s for sure.”
Doral Open: Jim Furyk made every putt and shot a course record-tying 62 and Tiger Woods missed several short ones on his way to a 69 as both were at 5-under-par 139 midway, two shots off the lead at Miami.
“I started the day trying to make the cut,” Furyk said after needing only 24 putts to pull close to leaders Tim Herron, Michael Bradley and John Cook. “I’ve put myself in contention.”
A lot of people were in contention as 18 players were within three shots of the three leaders.
Woods and Furyk played together in the second round and were in a logjam at 139 that included Curtis Strange, who is trying to win for the first time on tour in nine years, and three-time Doral winner Raymond Floyd, who at 54 is trying to become the oldest to win on the PGA Tour.
Scott Hoch, Rocco Mediate and Stewart Cink were one stroke off the lead. Woods and Furyk clearly fed off each other’s good play.
“Jim started out with three straight birdies and couldn’t get the tee,” said Woods, who looked like he might bolt from the pack when he began his round birdie-birdie-eagle.
