"Was it worth it for them to win it? No."

William Weinbaum previews ESPN's Sunday morning Outside the Lines episode by recapping the PGA Tour-Casey Martin battle that ended up in the Supreme Court. It makes for a nice recap of one of the real low points in PGA Tour history. And in light of this sidebar, you realize what a failure of common sense the fight to keep Martin out of a cart the saga proved to be.

A PGA Tour spokesman said that in the 10 years since the Supreme Court decision, the tour has reviewed a few applications for golf carts, almost exclusively in qualifying competitions. Other than Casey Martin, only Erik Compton -- twice a heart transplant recipient -- has used a cart in an actual PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour event. He was granted the use of a cart for a six-month period during his recovery phase. He now plays without one.

Jeff Bradley profiles the former Stanford golfer and now Oregon golf coach.

The preview:

"Should Woods, rather than pushing himself to play more in order to get stronger, follow the Hogan option and play less to conserve strength?"

Last week I asked if Tiger should/could be following the Hogan '53 route for his future scheduling and Larry Dorman uses Colonial weekend to tackle that question.

In 1953, Hogan played only six times, winning five events, including the three majors in which he played, and was given a ticker-tape parade in New York.

Before ardent Hogan disciples erupt in outrage, no one is suggesting here that Woods’s injuries are comparable to Hogan’s in severity. But consider this: Should Woods, rather than pushing himself to play more in order to get stronger, follow the Hogan option and play less to conserve strength?

Hogan was 36 when his car had a head-on collision with a bus on a foggy morning outside Van Horn, Tex. His injuries included two fractures to his pelvis, a fractured collarbone and left ankle, and life-threatening blood clots. Time away from competitive golf: 11 months.

Meanwhile, Robert Lusetich questions the likelihood of a Tiger return and shares some interesting comments from Kenny Perry about Tiger's physique.

“Tiger goes over the top when he does stuff,” Perry said. “When he works out, he works out religiously; whatever he does, he’s gung-ho. It’s amazing because that’s what made him such a great player, but maybe he’s overdone it.

“When he was playing great golf, he was wiry, thin, loose and quick; he had a lot of speed. Now he’s so thick, he looks like a defensive back in the NFL, but his legs are still little.

“So is his lower body struggling to support his heavier, muscular upper body? I don’t know, maybe it is.”

Jerry West's New Gig Will Not Interfere With NoTrust Open Duties

I know you were not going to be able to function this weekend without getting an answer to the question. But Jerry West, new advisor to Golden State Warriors ownership, will be continuing on with his Northern Trust Open Executive Director duties according to the PGA Tour.

Acushnet Sale: Press Release And Knee Jerk Reactions, Vol. 1

E. Michael Johnson has the details, the press release is below, and here are a few quick reactions:

- Golf publications and the Golf Channel will live to see another day if you believe the prognosticators who said a purchase by an "endemic" would have meant consolidation that might end entities that rely on ad buys from the industry. Same deal goes for touring professionals.

- Ten percenters across the land are rejoicing at the thought that Wally Uihlein is staying on as CEO (until he gets tired of commuting halfway around the world to meet his bosses), meaning he's not retiring to manage son Peter's career.

- Sadly, another win for the hedge funders. Not only does Bill Ackman force a sale, but they get lucky and sell to folks who appear---appear--to want the company because it is well-run, well-positioned and stable, not to pick up the golf ball brand and peddle the rest off.

- $1.23 billion is a higher number than many predicted and gives the golf business something to feel good about heading into the weekend. Okay, I'm reaching now.

I'm sure some of you will have different takes and are much more cynical than I when it comes to these press releases. Speaking of which, here's the release:

ACUSHNET COMPANY TO BE ACQUIRED BY GROUP LED BY FILA KOREA LTD. AND MIRAE ASSET PRIVATE EQUITY

Agreement Reached for World's Leading Golf Equipment Company to be Purchased from Fortune Brands

Fairhaven, MA (May 20, 2011) – Acushnet Company announced today that its parent company, Fortune Brands, Inc., has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of the company to a group led by Fila Korea, Ltd., the owner of the Fila brand globally, and Mirae Asset Private Equity, the largest private equity firm in Korea.

Acushnet Company is one of the largest golf equipment companies in the world with annual sales of more than $1.2 billion in 2010.  Its premium and storied brands include Titleist, the #1 ball in golf and a leader in high performance golf clubs, and FootJoy, the #1 shoe, glove and performance outerwear brand in golf.

“The Acushnet Company has long been the trusted steward of two of golf’s most revered and iconic brands, and has perpetuated the longest running records of golf equipment success in the game,” said Wally Uihlein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Acushnet Company. “The Fila Korea and Mirae group understands and appreciates our golf industry leadership, passionate associates, and unique and enduring culture. Together, with our new owners, our team is looking forward to strengthening and building upon the global success of the Titleist and FootJoy brands.”

Right out of the press release manual! I smell a v-word coming.

After the acquisition, Acushnet will remain as a standalone company through separate operation from Fila Korea, with its worldwide headquarters remaining in Fairhaven, Mass., and led by Uihlein and Acushnet’s current management team.

The Acushnet Company has a history of successful growth and evolution. The Golf Division was founded in 1932, with the first Titleist golf ball brought to market in 1935. Fortune Brands acquired the Acushnet Company in 1976, and Acushnet acquired FootJoy in 1985. Acushnet’s net sales in 1975 were $51 million and with the combined strength of both brands have grown more than twenty-fold over the past thirty-five years.

No v-word, just a plug for Titleist's and Footjoy's that I had to delete.

“We appreciate what Fortune Brands has contributed to the growth of our business over the last thirty-five years,” said Uihlein. “The support, encouragement and guidance they provided helped fuel our leadership position in the industry and marketplace.  Together, we achieved record-setting milestones.”

No love for Bill Ackman for forcing this sale so that he can repave his helicopter pad with gold?

Established in Italy in 1911, Fila is a leading sport and leisure footwear and apparel brand that is distributed worldwide. The group, led by Fila Korea and Mirae, also includes the National Pension Service of Korea, the fourth largest pension fund in the world, and Korea Development Bank, Korea’s largest government-owned bank.

“The acquisition of Acushnet transforms our platform with a stable of premier world class brands,” said Gene Yoon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fila Korea, Ltd. “We are equally excited to embrace Acushnet’s exceptional management team led by Wally Uihlein. With our extensive knowledge and reach in Asia, we believe that the Acushnet brands have incredible new opportunities for growth in the emerging markets in Asia.”

“We are very impressed with what Acushnet management and employees have accomplished so far,” said JH Ryu, CEO, Mirae Asset Private Equity. “We will fully support the company to remain focused on its core golf expertise and continue driving the growth of the industry.”

"Titleist and FootJoy are powerful global golf brands,” said Uihlein. “The fact that Asia Pacific represents over 30% of the world's total golf equipment spending, and that South Korean golfers are among the most passionate and organized in the game, is testament to the significant investment in the Acushnet Company by the Fila Korea and Mirae group. They recognize the strength of the brands and opportunities for growth particularly in golf's emerging regions.”

The sale is subject to certain closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and the transaction is expected to close this summer.

DVR Alert: ESPN On 10th Anniversary Of Casey Martin Case

For Immediate Release...

A decade ago, Casey Martin was at the center of a debate that transcended sports. An All-America and teammate of Tiger Woods at Stanford, Martin turned pro, despite an incurable and debilitating disease weakening his right leg. He asked the PGA Tour for permission to use a cart in competition under the Americans with Disabilities Act. When the Tour refused, citing the integrity of competition, Martin sued. A four-year legal battle culminated in a Supreme Court ruling, May 29, 2001, granting Martin the right to use a cart on the PGA Tour. Shelley Smith catches up with Martin in his hometown of Eugene, Ore., where he is now head golf coach at Oregon. This report will also feature rarely seen video from the January 1998 depositions of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, each supporting the PGA Tour.

Bet The King and The Bear are thrilled to see those grainy, embarrassing depo's surface!

“I don’t have ill will towards the Tour or Tim Finchem at all, I really don’t. I look back and say ‘thanks’ in a lot of ways, because certainly when you have that tension and that drama, it makes for a great story and people want to be around it and it’s kind of made me in a lot of sense, who I am today.” -- Casey Martin, on the four-year legal struggle with Commissioner Tim Finchem and the PGA Tour
 
“Casey has exceeded my expectations over the past 10 years. I would’ve thought that he would have either had a fracture or had enough discomfort that he would request an amputation, so I anticipate that will be the case in the future, but I would love to be wrong.” – Dr. Donald Jones, Martin’s orthopedist since the 1970s
 
“My career as a golfer wasn’t a great one, I’m not going to lie. I was frustrated most of the time. It’s hard to compete at the PGA Tour level, period, no matter who you are, let alone if you have a physical disability that you’re dealing with and then all the attention that comes with it.” -- Martin, on making the cut only once in a PGA Tour event after the Supreme Court’s 2001 ruling
 
“We were only required to provide a cart in cases where it was absolutely necessary for being able to play the game at all. It’s kind of like they (the seven Supreme Court justices who decided for Martin) wanted to give him a cart, but they wanted to protect the basis of why we were making the argument.” – Finchem, on his view that the Supreme Court’s decision for Martin was a “win-win”

Ahhhh...that's the spinmeister we love and know!

Viewing times:

Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN; re-air 10 a.m. ESPN2)
The Sporting Life with Jeremy Schaap (Friday, 10 p.m., ESPN Radio)

And a preview...

Trying To Makes Sense Of The Volvo Match Play

Okay, I tried to read the format description of this week's 24-player Volvo World Match Play Championship's eight groups of three, round robin format. After my third try, I've given up. Anyone care to help this blogger?

Round robin group matches will be played on Thursday and Friday with players grouped according to their Official World Golf Ranking as of the Monday of the Championship. The three players in each group will play each other once. Players will be awarded two points for a win and no points for a loss. If a match is tied after 18 holes each player shall receive one point.

The top two players in each group will progress to the knock-out stages. Should, after all matches have been played, two or more players are tied on points the following criteria will be used to determine the order:

   i) Where two players are tied within a group (in any position within the group) then their specific head to head match result will be used to identify which player is placed higher

   ii) If two or more players are still tied then those players will compete in a hole-by-hole play-off.

   iii) If all three players win one match in their respective group then all three players shall play-off.

The knock out stage will consist of the last 16 and quarter-finals, played on Saturday, and semi-finals and final, played on Sunday. All matches will be over 18 holes.  There will be no third and fourth place play-off on Sunday.

Here's the day one roundup, which I'd like to get excited about since golf needs fresh formats. Especially a creative use of match play. But so far this one is just not doing it for me.