Erik Compton is one step away from PGA Tour dream
It's a story movie executives must salivate over. A guy goes through his second heart transplant in 2008, and just two years later is in the hunt to become a full-time member of the PGA Tour.
That's the Erik Compton story, a 31-year-old professional golfer that just played his way through the second stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School to move into the illustrious group at third stage, a place that guarantees you at least some sort of position on either the PGA or Nationwide Tours come January.
To put it a little easier, making it to third stage of Q-School is like making it to the finals of the U.S. Amateur. Sure, you might not win the whole thing, but you are promised a spot in the Masters in April (maybe that analogy is only easier if you're a golf dork like myself, so I apologize for confusing you even further).
That's Compton. This season the Miami native played in seven PGA Tour events and made the cut in five of them, finishing seventh at Q-School on Saturday after closing with a 72 to easily make the top-19 spots at Hombre Golf Club.
He now has the chances to become a full-time PGA Tour member next season if he can play well enough at third stage, which kicks off on December 1 in Florida.
So, that's the Compton story for you. A guy on his third heart is now at third stage. Not a lot of people can shake their heads at that piece of good news.
