![]() ![]() “It’s a little more reassurance in me too. It’s taken awhile to understand my body, that if I get a lot of rest, I’ll play good golf. “I’m not pounding golf balls all the time, wearing myself out. “If I can make a difference for someone else, that’s great.”Ĭompton said he has found, since his second transplant, that he has relaxed in his life and his golf. ![]() “All that said, he’s good enough to win.”Ĭompton is not at all hesitant to be “that guy.” He doesn’t mind if people point and comment on his heart transplants. ![]() Just walking from the green to the tee box, it can take his heart a good 30 seconds to adjust back to normal. The fact his other organs don’t work as well. “But it’s putting up with life on a daily basis. “His heart issues don’t affect his swing,” Smith said. Smith said golf is the easy part for Compton. His defining moment of this season came in June, when Compton shot a final-round 65 and won the Nationwide’s Mexican Open, his first victory. If he doesn’t win once or twice on the PGA Tour next year, I’ll be surprised.”Ĭompton is third on the Nationwide Tour money list, and if he finishes the season in the top 25, he’ll get his PGA Tour card next year. So, I’m making a big push this year and that’s just what I’m trying to do, put one foot in front of the other.“He’s good enough to win on the PGA Tour,” Smith said. “I love to play, but there’s been some people who’ve stepped up and made it possible for me to keep playing. “There’s been times where it’s been tough in the last few years,” Compton said. A solid round Friday would have meant a spot on the weekend, which would have meant a check, maybe even a chance to contend. His clubhead speed and ball speed, he insists, are good enough for him to compete with the best. It may have wavered a bit in recent years, but it’s still there.Ĭompton says he feels great, having just dropped 20 pounds. And I don’t see why I can’t continue to keep chasing my dream.” I’ve had a pretty solid career, but compared to a lot of guys I haven’t made the amount of dollars. “A lot of guys that are my age maybe aren’t necessarily as hungry because they’ve made a lot more money than I have. Open, the big spark in a year in which he earned $1.8 million - almost half of his $4.1 million in career PGA Tour earnings. He has never won on the PGA Tour his best finish was a tie for second at the 2014 U.S. He usually plays on the Korn Ferry Tour these days he has made one PGA Tour cut in only four tries since 2016 and was playing the Honda this week on a sponsor’s exemption. The 42-year-old from Miami has been a pro golfer since 2001. You honor the donor, just all the achievements that have happened through the years.” “I’ve always celebrated the date of my second transplant and my first transplant. “Obviously, 30 is going to be a big milestone,” Compton said. Still fighting.Īnd on Saturday, still celebrating, even without playing. He has been told multiple times that his sports career was over, multiple times that he could no longer play competitive golf. He drove himself to a hospital after having a heart attack in 2007, seven months before his second transplant in May 2008. Those words weren’t hyperbole, and certainly don’t just apply to him playing golf. “I’ve got more pressure experience in my life in the field combined,” Compton said. He has fought and fought and fought since, and an opening round of 1-under 69 at the Honda Classic on Thursday was yet another reminder that he’s made a career out of defying absurdly long odds.Īnd Friday's second round of 12-over was a reminder of how tough things can be for Compton. 26, 1992, when Compton - then 12 - got the first of two heart transplants, needed after he was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart becomes inflamed and cannot effectively pump blood. Instead, he’ll have to settle for it being the 30th anniversary of his getting a second chance at life. He didn't make the cut at the Honda Classic, meaning he won't be playing a third round at PGA National. (AP) - Erik Compton is going to have a great Saturday, even without playing golf. ![]()
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