Erik Compton delivers heart-warming story at Greenbrier
Erik Compton tied with rookie Matt Every for the lead at the first round of the Greenbrier Classic yesterday - but Compton's remarkable history ensured it was he who got the lion's share of the attention.
Compton's seven-under-par 63 was impressive enough, the American racking up nine birdies after having carded two early bogeys on the 2nd and 3rd. But the mere fact that Compton was even in a position to take part in the PGA Tour event in West Virginia is something of a miracle.
The 30-year-old suffers from a serious ailment called viral cardiomyopathy - a condition that necessitated a heart transplant at the age of 12, when Compton was given the heart of a 12-year-old girl who had been killed by a drink driver.
Then in 2008 the player experienced chest pains while on a fishing expedition, and drove himself to the hospital fearing the worst. While his fears were well founded, quick-thinking doctors were able to save Compton's life with a second heart transplant, this time from a 26-year-old who had died in a motorbike accident.
With such an astonishing past, it's not hard to see why Compton was commanding the attention after his round. "Day to day, I'm just enjoying the time and the good round that I had today," he commented. "It's obviously different because I shoot seven-under and now we're talking about my health. And that is a bigger story than even if I shot 59, the fact that I'm playing out here with two transplants."
"In the past I was maybe a little bit in denial about that, but I know it's a bigger story. It affects so many people."
"I know I'm a good player, and I have a lot of the adversity in front of me with the game and health. But I always feel like if I stick in there and keep trying, something eventually good is gonna happen."
Every's recent history isn't quite so inspiring, though journalists can still find plenty to discuss if they're so minded. Playing his first season on the PGA Tour, Every has suffered setbacks this year on the fairways with a broken little finger meaning he has competed in just 11 tournaments in the last five months. But Every has also recently made headlines after being arrested and charged with possession of marijuana - a charge the Floridian denies.
Every shot a flawless five birdies and an eagle on the 12th yesterday to tie with Compton, three of those birdies coming on the final three holes, and the 26-year-old looks a livelier player than his Cheech 'n' Chong-friendly reputation may suggestion.
George McNeil, Pat Perez and Jeff Overton were tied for third place on six-under. Sweden's Richard S Johnson, a winner at last week's Scandinavian Masters, was the highest placed European on the leaderboard, tied for 11th place on four-under. England's Greg Owen was on two-under, while the highest ranked player here, world No. 5 Jim Furyk could only manage the same score - as could Spain's Sergio Garcia.
Last week's Canadian Open winner Carl Pettersson could only finish one-over yesterday. The Swede won the tournament seven days ago after assuming he'd missed the cut on Friday - and deciding to forget his troubles with a few beers.
Having knocked back seven of them, he then learned he had in fact made the next day's cut - and promptly went on to shoot a Canadian Open record round of 10-under-par 60. Maybe Pettersson needs to hit the bar for a few before today's second round to get him in the right mood.
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