Erik Compton posts his maiden win on Nationwide Tour in Mexico Open
Former University of Georgia graduate, Erik Compton posted his maiden victory on the Nationwide Tour when he clinched the 53rd Mexico Open presented by Banamex at El Bosque Golf Club Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Compton, who has undergone two heart transplants in his life time, has always been under the spot light for his mind boggling will power and miraculous resurgence after two transplants. The player pulled in a seven-under, 65 to amass an aggregate of 17-under,
271, to lift the first Nationwide Tour title.
"This tournament has kind of summed up my life," said Compton. "There was a lot of adversity to overcome in this tournament, just like what I've dealt with personally. To win this is everything to me. I never thought I'd play golf again, at least not at
this level, and I proved to myself I'm more than just a guy with two heart transplants."
Compton, who had entered the final round with a two stroke-deficit, carded a whopping eight birdies to move into contention for the top slot. He only dropped one shot in his final round, which came at par-four, 9th.
Compton has made the cuts in all of his appearances on the Nationwide Tour for the season and finished tied for fourth twice at the Fresh Express Classic and the season opener, the Panama Claro Championship.
The 31-year old has mostly relied on sponsorship exemptions to participate on the PGA Tour, owing much to his being a medical anomaly, but will now be participating on direct qualification through this win. He also bagged a winner’s cheque of $108,000 to
move up the money list, which will ensure his participation in the event ahead.
Compton received his first transplant in 1992 and then another in 2008. Seemingly undeterred with the drawback, he went over to participate in the Children's Miracle Network Classic on the PGA TOUR just after six months of his second surgery and finished
for a joint 60th.
"To start off the season like I did set up the ground work," said Compton, who is playing in the PGA TOUR's AT&T National next week on a sponsor's exemption. "This win has put me over the top."
Compton will now be proceeding to this week’s AT&T National on the PGA Tour next week.
American Richard H. Lee finished two shots behind Compton to claim the outright second slot in the tournament, while Will Wilcox finished for an outright third with his final round score of four-under. Lee was the only player in the event who broke par in
all four of his rounds and carded scores of 68-69-67-69 over the weekend.
Martin Flores posted a round of six-under, 66 to move into contention but his aggregate score pulled him back to settle for joint 31st. The final round was also suspended for almost two hours due to thunderstorms and lashing winds.
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