New York: Double heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton cannot wait to compete full-time on the PGA Tour after almost guaranteeing his playing rights by winning for the first time on the second-tier Nationwide circuit.
The 31-year-old American, who was diagnosed with an enlarged heart as a child and had his first transplant at the age of 12 and his second in 2008, triumphed at the Mexico Open in Leon on Sunday.
"I get a lot of opportunities to play in PGA Tour events because of my story," he told the tour's official website (www.pgatour.com) after climbing to second in the nationwide money list.
"But now I have won and I have pretty much secured my tour card, I will get into events on that alone. I have been playing professionally since I was 20 and never won so I feel like it's a monkey off my back."
Compton, who will be playing in this week's PGA Tour AT&T National in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on a sponsor's exemption, is all but certain to earn his card by finishing in the top 25 on the second-tier circuit.
"To win is everything to me," he said. "I never thought I would play golf again, at least not at this level.
"I proved I'm more than just a guy with two heart transplants. To think of what I went through and to have all the support and love of everyone around me, it's almost unreal."
Compton is now hoping he can record a breakthrough win on the main tour.
"The guys who see me inside the ropes see me as a regular golfer," he said. "But at the end of the day when I put my head down I realise how lucky I am.
"To be able to say I'll be playing on the PGA Tour only four years after my heart transplant is unbelievable. I don't really know what my future is in life — hopefully I can get a win out on the main tour now."
