Compton tied for 13th after three rounds of second-stage qualifier
Erik Compton is one solid round of golf away from advancing to the final stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament, less than six months after a heart transplant.
The 28-year-old pro from Miami Beach, who is allowed to use a cart because of his medical condition, shot a 3-under-par 69 on Friday during the third round of the 72-hole, second-stage qualifier in Brooksville, Fla., and is in a tie for 13th. He is at 209, 7 under par.
The top 20 players and ties after Saturday's final round at Southern Hills Plantation advance to next month's 90-hole, six-day final stage in Palm Springs, Calif.
From there, the top 25 and ties receive their 2009 PGA Tour card, while the next 50 receive full status on the Nationwide Tour. The rest are guaranteed of conditional status on the Nationwide next year.
All of this seemed unlikely when Compton began this quest three weeks ago at a first-stage qualifier in Key Biscyane, Fla. It was his first competition in nearly a year since he suffered a heart attack. That led to the May 20 operation to have a second heart transplant.
Compton began that 72-hole qualifier with scores of 75-74-77 and was seemingly out of it. But a final-round 68 got him one of the last qualifying spots. Last week he played in the PGA Tour's Children's Miracle Network Classic on a sponsor exemption, where he tied for 60th.
He had six birdies and three bogeys in his round Friday and trails the leader, Josh Teater, by five strokes. But winning isn't important. Advancing is, and Compton is two shots up on the final qualifying position, which now is at 5 under par.
Former PGA Tour winners Garrett Willis (tied for 2nd), Robert Gamez (T2), John Huston (T18) and Grant Waite (T26) are in the field 78-player field.
Bob Harig covers golf for ESPN.com. He can be reached at BobHarig@gmail.com.
