Casey Martin has not, "contrary to rumors," signed
endorsement deals with any companies to promote their
product on his golf cart, according to Mark Soltau of CBS
SportsLine. Martin's attorney, William Wiswall: "We've
decided to let that issue go. I'm sure there's some
manufacturers that would be interested. That option might
be open later on." Wiswall said that the cart will be ad-
free through the Nike Shreveport Open, April 9-12, and that
the he and the PGA are "close to finalizing" a deal "about
the restrictions of riding a cart" (CBS SportsLine, 3/9).
Martin's agent, Chris Murray, said no deal would be made
with a cart company "for at least another two months" (Jayne
Custred, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 3/8). After finishing the
Greater Austin Open yesterday, Martin is scheduled to play
today at a fund-raiser for his alma mater, Stanford Univ.,
followed by a trip to N.Y. tomorrow through Thursday. While
in N.Y., Martin will have a press conference to officially
announce his endorsement deal with Hartford Life Insurance
and attend the ESPN Magazine launch party (N.Y. POST, 3/9).
UNPRECEDENTED EXPOSURE: Martin's performance at the
Nike Tour's Greater Austin Open was covered during the
weekend by all the major news outlets, with TV coverage from
ESPN, CNN/SI, Fox Sports News and print coverage from most
of the major market newspapers. The Nike Tour was profiled
by Mark Cannizzaro in Sunday's N.Y. POST under the header
"Fairway To Heaven" with the sub-header "On Nike Tour,
'minor-leaguers' dream of stardom" (N.Y. POST, 3/8).
