CHARLESTON, S.C. — Two- time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton earned a PGA Tour card when he finished in the top 25 on the Nationwide Tour money list, while Ken Duke won the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship on Sunday to also secure a slot on the big tour.
Compton wasn’t sure he’d ever play pro golf, let alone be a member of the PGA Tour.
Yet Compton finished off his dream Sunday. Compton mostly secured his spot in June when he won his first Nationwide title at the Mexico Open. He ended 13th overall this year with $239,737 in earnings to advance.
The 31-year-old Compton has played 30 career PGA events, but none with a tour card in his bag.
“It’s a miracle,” he said. “It really is a miracle what I’ve been able to achieve.”
Compton, who was diagnosed at age 9 with an enlarging of the heart, took up golf after his first transplant as a way to exercise. It’s turned into much, much more.
“This game has been such a rehab for life for me, where I could go out and not think about the issues I have,” he said. The Associated Press
