A TICKET TO RIDE DESPITE MANY PITFALLS, RULING IS RIGHT AND JUST.

Byline: KAREN CROUSE

That great philosopher Anonymous once said, ``Rather suffer an injustice than commit one.''

Of all the voices heard 'round the world Tuesday after the Supreme Court spoke on behalf of golfer Casey Martin, Anonymous' balanced baritone - that's how we imagine it, anyway - was the one that echoed in our minds.

It drowned out the strident cries that the sky is going to fall on the PGA Tour now that Martin is free to use a cart in competitive rounds. It seconded the sympathetic statements from pros who have seen Martin's pain, if not felt it.

It corroborated the 7-2 majority opinion rendered by Justice John Paul Stevens that Martin should be able to use a cart because his disorder causes greater fatigue than does the act of walking a course, even one as demanding as Muirfield Village Golf Club, site of this week's PGA Tour stop.

It spoke simply for us on a topic so difficult to address that it makes a lot of good people in golf want to take a mulligan or at least the Fifth.

We contend that the court's decision was the correct one, but we can see why it caused some decent people considerable unease. The decision was far from a gimme putt. The case of PGA Tour v. Martin contained more subtleties than the greens at Augusta National Golf Club.

The ruling, on par with federal law requiring a level playing field for the handicapped, opens Pandora's box. Out might hobble golfers with far lesser disabilities than Martin, who is likely to lose his withered right leg before he would any length off the tee.

Fred Couples has lost a few years of his career to a bad back. Should he be able to ride in a cart?

Bill Glasson has knees worse than Lakers guard Ron Harper's and 10 years ago he nearly filed for permanent disability because of back problems. Should he be able to ride in a cart?

Joe Q. Pro turns his ankle tripping over a sprinkler head. Should he be able to ride in a cart?

Hal Sutton, who himself has battled back problems, said Tuesday, ``This is not about Casey Martin. It's about the possibilities it brings up. The next person's disabilities - it might not be as clear.''

If one person with a bad back or a bad set of knees gets to use a cart in a tournament because of Tuesday's ruling and this gives him a competitive advantage over Tiger Woods or the next pro, so be it.

As Anonymous said, it's a small injustice to suffer so Martin may continue to inspire the rest of us with his courage and commitment. It would have been a laughable injustice if Martin were able to overcome his debilitating handicap to become a card-carrying member of the PGA Tour, only to be kept from conquering the great courses of this country just because he cannot walk a full 18 holes.

We could play the 17th hole at the TPC at Sawgrass every day for the rest of our lives and not know the discomfort Martin feels his every waking hour. We could play St. Andrew's Old Course in a North Sea gale and not feel as whipped as Martin does at the end of a round in perfect conditions.

We watched Martin's first round at the tour stop in Palm Springs last year and it made our healthy right leg throb to see him limp from green to tee. We walked away convinced that Martin overcoming his disability to play golf at its highest level is no less extraordinary than the professional exploits of his ex-Stanford teammate, Woods.

Martin, 28, is to the handicapped what Woods is to minorities: a resplendent role model.

The pity is that PGA Tour officials were the last people to recognize as much. They could have quietly amended their walking rules for anybody who suffers from Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, the rare circulatory disorder that Martin has.

Goodness knows that would have narrowed the field of potential cart users.

But no. The PGA Tour couldn't see Martin's suffering for its own hubris. It believed it was above the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, which bans discrimination against the disabled in public accommodations, including golf courses and entertainment sites.

The tour should have made it easier on Martin four years ago. It obstinately chose to make it difficult on everybody with a heart and a handicap that's but a number.

``We're in a real gray area now,'' Sutton said, to which we reply: Welcome to Casey Martin's world, which he navigates knowing full well his next step could be his last.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Casey Martin has a legal right to ride in a cart in PGA Tour events.

Amy E. Conn/Associated Press

(2) The ruling in favor of Casey Martin has implications for other golfers regarding disabilities.

Chris Pietsch/Associated Press