Memorial: Erik Compton Carrying A Columbus Heart
/Steve Elling on Erik Compton's late 67, overshadowed by Phil's WD, comes with a heavy dose of irony for the two-time heart transplant recipient playing in Dublin, a suburb of Columbus.
Four years ago he was on his deathbed in a Miami hospital, awaiting a second donor heart after the one he received at age 12 had all but blown up.
Compton's current heart came from Isaac Klosterman, a 26-year-old Dayton native and Columbus resident who was killed in a cycle crash in Miami.
Compton, whose story has gone global since he's the only sports figure in the world who has undergone two heart transplants, is a rookie on the tour this year after playing his way to the big leagues via the Nationwide Tour. As you might imagine, given the medicine cocktail he consumes everyday, his life isn't exactly predictable.
The first round highlights from the Memorial:
**If you don't know Compton's story or just forgot how amazing it is that he even can play on the PGA Tour, much less fire 67 at Muirfield Village when it's playing tough, I'd point you to two of my favorite reads. There was this March 2009 piece by Steve Elling at CBSSports.com and this September '08 piece from Jim Moriarty of Golf World.
