GREAT AMERICAN TOURING PROFESSIONAL – ERIK COMPTON

He hasn’t won a major championship.  Nor has he even won an event on the PGA Tour.  But Erik Compton is a champion in his own right.  Compton was diagnosed with a condition called cardiomyopathy at the age of nine, where the heart is enlarged and its ability to pump blood is compromised.  He had his first heart transplant in 1992 at the age of 12 and a second transplant in 2008.  He took up golf after his first transplant as a way to get active, and soon found he had an acumen for the game.  He attended the University of Georgia on a golf scholarship, playing on the same team as Bubba Watson.  He has had his ups and downs as a professional player, but the high point of Compton’s career so far was achieved on October 30 when he finished in the top 25 of the Nationwide Tour’s money list to earn playing privileges on the 2012 PGA Tour.  Earlier in the year, Compton won the Mexico Open on the Nationwide Tour, his most significant professional victory to date.   Compton resides in Miami, Florida, with his wife Barbara and daughter Petra.