Casey Martin - Men's Golf Coach - University of Oregon Athletics

Casey Martin

Title:
Head Coach

Coaching/Player Honors
- 1 Golfweek National Coach of the Year: 2017
- 2 Pac-12 Coach of the Year: 2010, 2017
- 1 U.S. Open Champion: Wyndham Clark (2023)
- 2 Jack Nicklaus Award (National Golfer of the Year): Eugene Wong (2010), Norman Xiong (2018)
- 1 Fred Haskins Award (National Player of the Year): Norman Xiong (2018)
- 1 Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award Norman Xiong (2017)
- 3 Pac-12 Golfers of the Year: Eugene Wong (2010, 2012), Wyndham Clark (2017)
- 14 All-Americans: 1st-6; 2nd-2; 3rd-1; HM-3
- 31 All-Pac-12 Honorees: 1st-10; 2nd-12; HM-9
- 3 All-Big Ten Honorees: 1st-1: 2nd-2
- 5 Pac-12 All-Freshman Honorees: 1st-10; 2nd-12; HM-6
- 1 Big Ten All-Freshman Honorees
- 20 All-Region Honorees

PGA Tour veteran, former NCAA Champion and Eugene native Casey Martin enters his 19th season in 2023-24 after amassing one of the Ducks’ most impressive resumes in any sport.

In his tenure, he has transformed Oregon into a national golf power, and guided the team to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including winning the 2016 NCAA title and finishing runner-up in the 2017 championships.

Martin has also mentored Wyndham Clark, who went on to become the 2023 U.S. Open champion, and another PGA Tour winner, Aaron Wise, during his time at Oregon.

"When I went to Oregon, and Casey Martin then took over as my head coach, he instilled that I was one of the best players in the world; you're good enough to play on this stage. And then I had my best year ever, so he instilled the confidence in me that maybe I lost."

- 2023 U.S. Open Champion Wyndham Clark

Under Martin’s guidance, Norman Xiong turned in the greatest individual season in program history in 2017-18. Xiong shattered the program record with six wins and on the way to winning both the Fred Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award as the nation’s most outstanding men’s golfer.

During Martin's tenure, Oregon won the Pac-12 Championships twice and finished as runner-up four times. In NCAA Regional play, Oregon has been equally up to par with one title (2010) and five runner-up efforts (2008, ‘09, ’12, ‘14, '16). The Ducks have qualified for an NCAA Regional in each of the last 18 seasons dating back to 2007.

The Ducks continued to thrive under Martin during the 2024-25 season. Oregon won its first team title since the 2022-23 campaign at the Bandon Dunes Championship before defending their home course with a second title at the Duck Invitational at Eugene Country Club the next time out. With two wins and five top-five finishes under its belt in what was supposed to be a “rebuilding year,” Oregon clinched its 18th-consecutive NCAA Regional berth, finishing ninth at the Auburn Regional.

Under Martin, Aiden Krafft became the first Ducks’ medalist since the 2022-23 season when he took home the individual title at the Sahalee Players Championship to open the fall slate. His wasn’t the only low score for Martin’s Ducks, as Eric Doyle kicked off the spring season with a 17-under 199 at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate. It tied for the fifth-lowest score in program history and second-lowest score to par, while his opening-round 63 (-9) tied for the fifth lowest round and second lowest round to par. The Ducks finished the week with a 48-under 816 as a team, the lowest score to par in UO history and third lowest total. Oregon’s 285.76 scoring average for the season was the sixth-lowest by a Duck squad all time.

The season was a unique one as the Ducks transitioned into the Big Ten Conference, finishing fourth at the Big Ten Championships. Four Duck starters earned postseason awards from the new league. Greyson Leach earned first team all-Big Ten honors unanimously and was named to the conference’s all-tournament team after placing second at the Big Ten Championships. Doyle and Krafft were named to the second team, while Ramil Saelim earned a spot on the all-freshman team and was named the Ducks’ Big Ten Sportsmanship Honoree.

After spending four years under Casey, Leach finished his Oregon career with the fifth-lowest scoring average (71.74) and 10th-most birdies (412) in program history. Leach logged three top-10 and five top-20 finishes during his senior season, including runner-up finishes at the Bandon Dunes Championship and Big Ten Championships.

The 2023-24 season was another strong season for Martin and the Ducks, clinching their 17th-consecutive NCAA Regional berth. Three Oregon starters earned postseason awards from the Pac-12 as Eric Doyle, Greg Solhaug, and Nate Stember all brought home Honorable Mention honors.

Oregon secured six top-five finishes during the campaign, including a fourth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships and a second-place result at the Duck Invite. The Ducks also tied the third-lowest tournament to par in program history with a 33-under finish at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate. Stember closed out his Oregon career with a 23rd place finish at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional and ranks third in program history with 499 career birdies. He and Owen Avrit both finished their careers ranked in the top ten in career scoring average, sitting seventh (72.03) and fifth (71.75), respectively.

In 2022-23, following a second consecutive run to the NCAA Championships, all five of Oregon starters were recognized by the Pac-12. Among the all-conference honorees were Owen Avrit (first team), Nate Stember (second team), Greyson Leach (honorable mention), Greg Solhaug (honorable mention) and Aiden Krafft (all-freshman honorable mention). Avrit and Stember were also all-region selections, while Avrit became the 28th Ping All-American in program history (third team).

The Ducks defended their title at the Bandon Dunes Championship and won the Duck Invitational outright for the first time since 2017. Oregon had seven top-five finishes in 2022-23, including a tie-for-fifth at the Pac-12 Championships and a third place showing at the NCAA Bath Regional to advance to the NCAA Championships.

The team's scoring average of 283.28 per round was the third-best in program history, while the 17 rounds of par or better ranked eighth. The Ducks challenged the school record for low tournament total with an 815 at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. That was just four strokes off the record, 811, set in 2011-12.

The 2021-22 season marked one of Martin's best efforts to date as he guided a team that was never ranked in the top 25 to the program's first NCAA Championships appearance since 2018, being one of 15 teams to make the cut for the final round of stroke play. During the season, the Ducks won both the Saint Mary's Invitational and the Bandon Dunes Championships and had six top-five finishes in nine spring tournaments.

The Ducks also carded the then-third-lowest score in program history, 820 (-20), at the 2021 Maui Jim Invitational. Oregon was -27 under in the last two rounds.

In 2016-17, the Ducks followed up their 2016 NCAA title with a national runner-up finish in what was supposed to be another "rebuilding year." Martin led the Ducks to five team wins, including the Pac-12 men’s golf championship team title (the first outright since 1959), and was named the Golfweek National Coach of the Year and the Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Wyndham Clark won the Pac-12 individual title and was named the Golfweek National Player of the Year while Xiong won the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.

In 2015-16, Martin led the Ducks to their 10th-straight NCAA Regional appearance. The Ducks easily held second place over UAB at the Tucson Regional, finishing 17-under par, 10 strokes ahead of the third-place finisher, to reach their 28th NCAA Championships held at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., (May 27-June 1).

The Ducks sat in fifth place as a team after three rounds at the NCAA Championships, making the cut for the final day of stroke play. Sophomore Aaron Wise sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the 17th green to claim the individual national championship and helped send the Ducks to match play. After defeating LSU (3-1-1) and Illinois (3-2-0), Oregon topped Texas, 3-2-0, thanks to heroics from Eugene native Sulman Raza. On the 21st hole of his dramatic match, Raza drained a birdie putt to clinch the first NCAA Championship in program history and become the third UO team to take home a national title.

In the 2014-15 regular season, Oregon posted a school-record four-straight wins to start the fall and picked up its fifth win of the year in early March at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. The Ducks also set the NCAA low-round record in the fall in the first round of the Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic with a blistering 30-under 254. Brandon McIver’s 62 card tied Daniel Miernicki (2010-11) and Derek Sipe, Jr. (2006-07) for the lowest-round ever at Oregon.

The 2011-12 season was one of the Ducks’ greatest ever and featured a record seven team wins among their 12 stroke-play events, and an even more amazing postseason run. In the collegiate finale in Los Angeles, UO matched its best-ever finish at that time among its 25 NCAA trips with a third-place tie. The Ducks lost their hard-fought semifinal to top-ranked and eventual national champion Texas, 3-2, at the Riviera Country Club.

Earlier in the week, Oregon beat No. 5 UCLA, 3-2, in the quarterfinals, and stood seventh in stroke play (291-294-288-873) with three individuals in the top 30 overall (Eugene Wong, 13th, 215 (-1); Daniel Miernicki, 21st, 216 (+2); Andrew Vijarro, 29th, 217 (+2)).

Wong picked up his second Pac-12 Golfer of the Year, All-Nicklaus Team and PING All-America First Team honors. Miernicki joined Wong on the top PING All-America squad, his first first-team nod after he earned second-team honors as a sophomore.

Two years earlier, Martin was honored by his league peers as the 2010 Pac-10 Coach of the Year after another ground-breaking campaign.

That season, he led the Ducks to a then-school-record five tournament victories, including Oregon’s first-ever NCAA Regional title, and a third-place tie in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. After securing a spot in the final eight with a fifth-place finish through the stroke play portion of the championships, the Ducks defeated Pac-10 rival Washington, 3-2, in the quarterfinals of match play. Oregon’s historic run was ended on The Honors Course by Oklahoma State, which took the semifinal 3-1-1.

Eugene Wong was tabbed the co-Pac-10 Golfer of the Year, won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the Division I player of the year, and was named a first-team PING All-American. Wong’s tie for ninth at the NCAA Championships is believed to be the best finish ever by a UO golfer.

Not surprisingly, the Ducks have shined since the start of his head coaching tenure, as the Ducks won the 2006 Northwest Collegiate Classic - his second event at the helm. The following spring, Oregon also claimed the 2007 Thunderbird Invitational title at Arizona State for the first time in school history.

A graduate of South Eugene High School, Martin was a three-time all-conference selection, a two-time All-American at Stanford and member of its 1994 NCAA Championship squad. As a senior, he received Academic All-America honors in 1995 and graduated with a degree in economics.

Martin played professionally starting in 1998 and earned his PGA Tour card in 2000. During that year, he recorded five top-50 finishes, and his best showing was a tie for 17th in the Tucson Open. Other career highlights include an impressive 23rd-place tie in the 1998 U.S. Open.

After winning the local 2012 U.S. Open qualifier at Emerald Valley, he returned to the nation’s toughest golf test at the Olympic Club in San Francisco two weeks later. Martin is also known for his court battle with the PGA Tour over the right to use a golf cart in competition. Martin suffers from a birth defect in his right leg known as Klippel-Trenaunay-Webber Syndrome, a congenital circulatory disorder. Under the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Martin won the right to use a golf cart in a legal case with the PGA that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

His efforts in that landmark case earned him the 1998 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to a competitor who continues to be active in golf despite a physical handicap. In 2001, Nike began bestowing an annual Casey Martin Award to recognize a disabled athlete.

He is the ninth man to hold the head coaching position at the University of Oregon. He succeeded Steve Nosler, whom he served as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2005-06 season.