Casey Martin has signed endorsement deals to play Top-
Flite balls and Ping clubs and to display The Hartford
Insurance logo on his bag, according to Ron Sirak of the AP.
Martin has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday when he
returns to the Nike Tour to play at the Greater Austin
Classic in TX. Sirak reported that "three industry sources"
confirmed the deals to the AP. Spalding Sports,
manufactures of Top-Flite and Karsten Manufacturing,
manufacturers of Ping, refused to confirm or deny the deals.
Officials with The Hartford Insurance offices could not be
reached for comment (AP, 2/28). Martin was interviewed this
morning on NBC's "Today." Asked about lucrative endorsement
deals, Martin said he wasn't "going to comment on it too
much." Martin: "I'm generally not getting paid what Tiger's
getting paid, but there've been some opportunities and ... I
never expected it, but I'm not going to turn it down." On
returning to the Nike Tour: "I do want to play well. I've
never dealt with this kind of exposure and media attention
and I don't really want to go make a clown of myself. But
I'll just accept whatever happens as for the best and I'll
do my best. I can't promise anything. I'm just grateful I
have a chance now" ("Today," NBC, 3/2).
MORE MARTIN: Martin is profiled by NEWSWEEK's John
Leland who writes that his case vs. the PGA Tour was "a
victory of David over Goliath, or a judicial intrusion into
the integrity of professional sport. It pits a stock hero
-- brusquely handsome, devoutly Christian, a young man
battling constant pain -- against an association with a
history of exclusion" (NEWSWEEK, 3/9 issue).
