US captain Davis Love III won't have to watch potential Ryder Cup players on television at the US Open on television. He'll be playing alongside them. Love qualified for the US Open for the third time in the last six years with a 2-under 139 at Scioto Country Club and Ohio State's Scarlet Course. Even more stunning is that Casey Martin and his cart will be there, too. A full day of US Open qualifying Monday ended in Oregon with Martin, now the 40-year-old golf coach at Oregon University, making a 5-foot par putt on his last hole to earn a spot next week at Olympic, where in 1998 he tied for 23rd while riding in a cart. Martin has a rare circulatory disorder in his right leg, and he eventually won his lawsuit against the PGA Tour to ride. Love, who finished tied for 16th at the Memorial Sunday, said it never crossed his mind to go home rather than extend an already long week by playing 36 more holes. The 48-year-old Love was among 16 players to qualify from the biggest of the 11 sectional qualifying sites across the country Monday. The US Open is June 14-17 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, and Love will be making his 23rd appearance here. Others who qualified from Scioto and Scarlet included medalist Charlie Wi, Kevin Streelman, D.A. Points, Rod Pampling and Steve Marino. Love still hasn't forgotten the details from a year ago, however, when he three-putted the last hole he played at Colonial that cost him an automatic spot in the Open at Congressional. He had to go through qualifying to get in the field. Love has been in captain mode off and on since being selected for the matches this fall. He has been assessing potential players for the American side and has played with several. One of them, former British Open champ Ben Curtis, was in his threesome Monday, although Curtis faded on his second 18 and failed to make the Open field. Perhaps the biggest cheer of the day came as darkness was falling at Scioto Country Club. On the fourth playoff hole to decide the last qualifiers, 42-year-old Youngstown, Ohio, teaching pro Dennis Miller's 20-foot putt from the fringe stopped on the lip of the cup. After the gallery of a few hundred groaned and Miller slowly started to walk to his ball, if fell — touching off a huge celebration. Now Miller, a third alternate whose name did not even appear on the tee sheet, will be playing in his first US Open — and will likely have to get someone to fill in for him back at the course at Mill Creek Metroparks in Youngstown. “I can't believe what just happened,” Miller said. “That was pretty incredible.” Among those who did not qualify were two of the contenders at Jack Nicklaus' tournament.
