![]() Further, he founded “The Erik Compton Foundation”. “Every time you walk the course, you become mesmerized by the scenery and the cliffs, and you almost get dizzy just because it’s so surreal,” he said.īut not even Pebble Beach is as surreal as Compton’s path to get there.He is noted for having two heart transplants. He played his first practice round Monday. Despite a tiring cross-country trip, he walked the entire course with his family on Saturday. But after what he went through last week just to get to Pebble, playing a tough course under Open conditions will be a comparative breeze. “And if they can see that I am doing well and living a normal life, then hopefully it helps them.”Ĭompton takes nearly 40 pills a day and continues to have fatigue issues. “I know there are a lot of kids and families that are going through tough times,” he said. That’s what the transplantation allows people to do.”Ĭompton doesn’t think of himself as a role model but realizes that what he has been through is inspiring to others. After all, the reason he goes through all this is to continue his life and live the life that he wants. “But there’s no way we could say no to him. Is that the smartest thing for him to be doing?’ ” Peter Compton said. “We privately were thinking, ‘Gee, that’s less than six months since he had his transplant. He didn’t earn a full-time card - it’s still a goal he will continue to pursue - but the mere fact that he was in a position to challenge for one raised the eyebrows of his own family. ![]() Less than six months later, he was back on the course and went through the PGA Tour Qualifying School. Compton was placed on a donor list for a second heart and received one in May 2008. He drove himself to the hospital and learned that he had incurred a major blockage that resulted in a heart attack. He was feeling fatigued after playing, then while fishing in September, he felt numbness in his arm. It was while playing on the Nationwide Tour in 2007 that his first donor heart started to give out. It didn’t seem likely at the time that he would ever get a better chance. Open several times but only came close in 2003, when he lost in a playoff. Compton has bounced around on various minor tours in the United States and Canada, and he won two events on the Canadian Tour. His pro career hasn’t gone quite as well. He also qualified for spots in the Walker Cup, U.S. Despite an arduous recovery, he became a top junior player and earned a scholarship to the University of Georgia. While not a PGA Tour regular, he has played in four tour stops this year and has made the cut in all four, including the Memorial, where he shot a disappointing final-round 82 the day before he had to go through the grueling sectional.Ĭompton had his first transplant at age 12 after being diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy, an enlargement of the heart muscle that restricts blood flow. I didn’t have (playing) status anywhere.”īut with moral support from his family, particularly his father, Peter, Compton not only returned to playing, but did so quickly and with a vengeance. ![]() ![]() “When I was laying in ICU after my last transplant, I pretty much had come to grips that I wasn’t ever going to play golf again,” Compton said. Open was the furthest thing from his mind. It’s a far cry from where he was in May 2008, confined to a hospital bed, wondering what his latest chance at life would bring. In addition to his medical history, the resident of Coral Gables, Fla., had to play a 36-hole sectional qualifier and had to endure a three-hole playoff to earn his spot. But it never has had a story like the one belonging to Erik Compton, a man who has had three hearts.īelieved to be the first active professional athlete who has had a heart transplant, the 30-year-old Compton has had two, the most recent just two years ago after suffering a massive heart attack seven months earlier.Ĭompton will be part of the 156-player field at Pebble Beach this week as perhaps the most miraculous U.S. Open has always been an event that delivers poignant, heart-rending success stories. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |