For a guy who has had more hearts (three) than major tournament appearances (two), Erik Compton looked downright comfortable on a warm, difficult Saturday at the U.S. Open.
More than just happy to be here, more than a walking endorsement for organ donation, Compton opted to be a factor at this Open after shooting the low third-round score, 67. At 3 under par, Compton, who had to survive a 36-hole qualifier (plus a playoff) to make this Open field, is in second place heading into Sunday’s final round. Tied with Rickie Fowler, they are five shots back of Martin Kaymer.
While fatigue can be one of the byproducts of the anti-rejection medication that Compton takes for his second transplanted heart, he said he was fresh and energized Saturday. Much more so than Friday.
When you shoot 5 under over a seven-hole stretch at the U.S. Open, that tends to keep your engine running. Compton began his tear on the par-5 fifth hole, with an eagle. The momentum from that carried him through the turn and into the back nine, which he began with consecutive birdies.
By the time he was walking up 18, his name among the leaders, he understandably was fighting his composure. “There’s times when I get emotional. I look over and see the crowd and see my name on the leaderboard and know what I’ve been through. I can come at any golf tournament, but you got to get right back into game mode,” he said.
In his third full season on the PGA Tour, Compton has no victories, but two top-five finishes this year. He had played far more extensively on the lower tiers of pro golf since graduating from Georgia in 2002, with one victory in the Web.com’s Mexico Open in 2011. But his is not a story measured in finishes and money winnings. There’s that other matter of the two heart transplants, the first at age 12, the second after his replacement failed in 2008.
Just his presence in a tournament is a wonder.
Even those on Tour have a difficult time comprehending the challenges he overcame to be here. As Compton told the Associated Press, illustrating how that wonder extended to even a practice-round playing partner: “Charl (Schwartzel) actually asked me, ‘Did they take out the whole heart?’”
In one respect, though, Compton said his ordeal helped him prepare for the pressures of pro golf.
“There’s something to be said for going through what I’ve gone through,” he said earlier this week. “When you step on the tee, you’re not intimidated by other people, you’re not intimidated by the situation.”
“I have nothing to lose,” he said Saturday. “If I go out and shoot 90, I don’t think anybody will be surprised. But if I shoot 67 again, you may be surprised.”
And if he should win the U.S. Open?
“Obviously that would be extremely special, not only for me, but for my family and for those who have been around me and also for the community of those who have been through some tough times,” he said. “I might just sail off and never play golf again.”
He came to Pinehurst determined to narrow his focus. In his only other U.S. Open, at Pebble Beach in 2010, he shot 16 over through two rounds and disappeared into the abyss of those who missed the cut.
For this Open, Compton tried to ration his energy and sharpen his mental approach as best he could. He took the week off between the qualifying tournament and the start of the Open. He did not go on the usual hospital visit he performs at every stop. He played nine-hole practice rounds in the heat.
After Saturday’s round, Compton’s mother, Eli, explained how her son actually was prepared for a moment like this since he received his second heart in 2008. Its donor was a 26-year-old former University of Dayton volleyball player named Issac Klosterman, killed in a motorcycle accident.
“We told (Erik), ‘You’ll be a champion because you have the heart of a champion,’” she Compton remembered.
About the Author
