Just four months after the second heart transplant of his life, the former Georgia All-American learned that officials have granted his request to use a cart during qualifying school to earn his tour card. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel first reported the story Tuesday on its Web site.
Erik Compton, shown in an April 2007 tournament, is getting back into competitive golf.
"I feel really good about the news," Compton said, according to the Sun-Sentinel. "It takes a lot of stress off me, and it gives me a realistic chance."
Compton, 28, will play the first stage of qualifying from Oct. 21-24 at Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne, Fla. He is a former No. 1 junior golfer who won on the Canadian and Hooters Tours and played on the Nationwide Tour.
Compton told the newspaper that he has also been granted a waiver to use a beta blocker, which is on the PGA Tour's list of banned substances, because he needs it as part of his medication protocol.
Heart disease caused Compton to have a heart transplant at age 12. Transplanted hearts last an average of 11 years, but his survived for 16. Then in October 2007, Compton suffered a near-fatal heart attack while fishing. He was stabilized, but it was only a matter of time before he would need a new heart.
In May, he was hospitalized again for observation and given medication to help his heart function. He was about to go home with a nurse that would provide 24-hour care when a new heart became available.
The Compton case stands in sharp contrast to that of Casey Martin. A birth defect in his leg prevented him from walking the course, but he had to sue the tour to use a cart.
While his case went through the courts, Martin was granted the right to use a cart at the 1997 Q-school. He played the Nike Tour in 1998 (won a tournament) and tied for 23rd at the U.S. Open. He earned his PGA Tour card for 2000 by finishing 14th on the Nike money list in 1999 but failed to keep his card. In 2001, he won his suit that went to the Supreme Court which allowed him to use a cart under the Americans With Disabilities Act.
He's now the golf coach at the University of Oregon.
With his second new heart in his chest, Compton has begun playing golf and working out, trying to regain the strength the operation sapped.
"I've been busting my butt in the gym," Compton said, according to the newspaper. "Hopefully, I'll get stronger and stronger."
For now, he's not strong enough to compete while walking the course. But he's doing his part to get there.
"Nobody's going to hand me anything," Compton told GolfWorld in the beginning of September. "I'm going to have to go out and work and get good again, get my body in shape, and that's going to take some time, for sure."
ESPN.com golf writer Bob Harig contributed to this report.
TEES OFF OCTOBER 6 AT SAN GABRIEL COUNTRY CLUB
Rusnak Auto Group introduces 2009 Audi A4 and Jaguar XF to the prizes.
(ALTADENA, Calif.) - The 21st Annual Five Acres
Monday,
October 6 at San Gabriel Country Club (411 East Las Tunas Drive, San
Gabriel), benefiting the programs and services of the Altadena-based
child
and family services agency. Over the past 20 years, the tournament has
raised more than $1.7 million for child abuse prevention, treatment
and
education.
Reaume Financial Group is the presenting sponsor of the
Golf
Classic. Additional sponsors and underwriters are Wachovia, Kathy and
Mark
Weber, Majestic Realty Foundation, the William R. and Virginia Hayden
Foundation, Kathy and Tetsu Tanimoto, Chapman & Associates, Community
Bank
and Pasadena Magazine.
For the first time this year there will be chances to win a 2009 Audi
A4 and
a 2009 Jaguar XF thanks to Rusnak Auto Group. The 2009 Jaguar XF is
the
official hole-in-one vehicle for the Golf Classic. Rusnak Audi
Pasadena is
sponsoring Five Acres' 2009 Audi A4 raffle. The winning ticket will be
pulled at the Five Acres Annual Meeting on March 3rd 2009 at 7:00 pm.
Raffle tickets can be purchased for $50.
Co-chairs of the 2008 tournament are Ryan Dietz and Bill Hayden. Golf
committee members include Alex Blecksmith, Craig Caldwell Jr., Greg
Chapman,
Michael Coye, Chris Dillavou, Jill Hawkins, Don Icardo, John Martin,
Inger
Miller, Rustin Mork, Brian Nash, Brad Reaume, Pamela Scott and Craig
Stewart.
The event includes 18 holes of golf followed by an exquisite dinner
with
menu prepared by Chef Edward of San Gabriel Country Club. The dinner
will
be hosted by noted television actors Jordan Baker and Kevin Kilner,
and will
feature live jazz by the Peter Smith Trio as well as exclusive live
and
silent auctions. Prizes will be awarded for a hole-in-one, the
longest
drive and closest to the pin. Tee time is 11:30 a.m. Golfer fee is
$495 and
dinner tickets are $100.
Founded in 1888, Five Acres is a child and family services
agency providing therapeutic prevention, treatment and education
programs to
strengthen families and prevent child abuse. Services include
residential
care and education, mental health services in homes and schools,
foster care
and adoptions and domestic violence prevention.
For more information, call Susan Silverman, Director of
Annual
Giving at (626) 798-6793 ext. 2279 (email ssilverman@5acres.org) or
visit
Five Acres' website www.5acres.org
My rehabilitation is going well. Although I won't be able to swing a club until early next year, my left knee is getting stronger and the doctors are pleased with my progress. I just can't rotate on my leg and I still don't know what my first event will be in 2009.
As for being away from the game, there are definitely certain things I miss. I miss the competition, and I miss the preparation. If I tried to play now, you would see some of the worst shots you've ever seen.
I plan to watch the Ryder Cup this week, but I will not attend. U.S. captain Paul Azinger has my cell phone number and he or any US player can call me any time. If I can offer any assistance, I'm happy to help. I doubt I can do much, since I can't play practice rounds and am not privy to their team chemistry. I also don't know who is playing well, who is injured, and have no feel for how the course is playing. But I'll be happy to offer my opinion. I wish the American team well and hope they can bring back the Cup.
The next big event on my schedule is the fourth annual Block Party on Oct. 11 in Orange County. This year, we're looking forward to a gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Mario Batali and a musical performance from Seal, who was fantastic at Tiger Jam III back in 2000. The Block Party has been a huge success for us and is our way of thanking the local community for supporting the Learning Center. So far, the event has raised about $3 million for the Center's career exploration programs.
I recently spent time at my golf course design projects, Al Ruwaya Golf Course in Dubai and at The Cliffs at High Carolina in North Carolina, reviewing the progress of both. The two are going very well.
I also spent a couple days in New York, where we launched my new EA Sports video game: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09. I attended a reception and U.S. Olympians Michael Phelps, Bryan Clay, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor stopped by to say hello. I enjoyed hanging out with them, and Phelps was naturally exhausted. It was nice of him to stop by and wish me luck with my new video game launch. I watched most of the Olympics on television and have to say his performance was definitely one of the all-time feats of any individual athlete in one Olympics.
I also went to a New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox game with a few friends. Afterward, I caught up with my buddy Derek Jeter.
I was hoping to go see Roger Federer play in the U.S. Open, but it never worked out. He had reached three Grand Slam finals in a row and I was glad to see him win. We always give each other a hard time. He now has 13 Grand Slam titles and is one way from the record held by Pete Sampras. He's closer than I am to the record; I have 14 titles and Jack Nicklaus has 18. But I might be playing competitively a little longer than him.
As you have probably heard, Elin and I will become parents again, and we're as thrilled as you can possibly be. Elin is doing great and is perfectly healthy. The only difference this time is we're getting less sleep because of Sam. We didn't want to know if it was a boy or a girl the first time, and we're not going to find out this time.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading and talk to you soon.
Tiger
TIGER'S TIP
By Tiger Woods, Golf Digest Playing Editor, Edited By Pete McDaniel and Mark Soltau
Belt Buckle To The Target
For distance control from the sand, turn your lower body through the shot
I'm always amazed at the confusion over the lower body's role in green-side bunker play. Here's a rule of thumb: quiet lower body on the backswing, active lower body on the through-swing.
A lot of amateurs fail to consistently execute greenside bunker shots because they lock the lower body in place and get real handsy or armsy with the swing. As a result, they often decelerate through the shot, sometimes leaving the ball in the bunker.
Rotating your lower body toward the target helps propel the ball from the sand and assists in maintaining acceleration. Try this for a swing thought: Turn your belt buckle to the target.
For me, keeping my lower body and upper body connected throughout the swing is the key to controlling distance from greenside sand. If one or the other is out of sync, you can bet my percentage of sand saves will decrease.
Keep your lower body moving through impact, and you'll become a better bunker player.
]]>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 5, 2008 -- The LPGA has received valuable feedback from a variety of constituents regarding the recently announced penalties attached to our effective communications policy. We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions.
After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every Tour player. In that spirit, we will continue communicating with our diverse Tour players to develop a better alternative. The LPGA will announce a revised approach, absent playing penalties, by the end of 2008.
During that time we will continue to provide support under the three-year-old Kolon-LPGA Cross Cultural Program. This popular program provides all LPGA members with the best cross-cultural training in the form of tutors, translators, Rosetta Stone®, the official language-learning system of the LPGA, as well as assistance from LPGA staff and consultants.
Under increasing criticism, the LPGA Tour on Friday backed off plans to suspend players who could not efficiently speak English at tournaments.
LPGA Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivens said she would have a revised plan by the end of the year that would not include suspensions for players unable to speak English in pro-ams, trophy presentations or interviews. Fining such players remained an option.
Bivens disclosed the tour's original plan in a meeting with South Korean players two weeks ago at the Safeway Classic in Portland, Ore., Golfweek magazine reported. The policy, which had not been written, was widely criticized as discriminatory, particularly against Asian players.
The LPGA membership includes 121 international players from 26 countries, including 45 from South Korea. Asians won three of the four majors this year.
"We have decided to rescind those penalty provisions," Bivens said in a statement. "After hearing the concerns, we believe there are other ways to achieve our shared objective of supporting and enhancing the business opportunities for every tour player."
The reversal was quickly hailed by two California lawmakers who challenged the original policy.
State Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, had asked the Legislature's legal office to determine whether the English policy violated state or federal anti-discrimination laws. If it was deemed legal, Yee said he would have pushed for legislation banning such policies in California.
The LPGA Tour plays three events in California, including its first major championship.
"I'm very pleased that the LPGA saw the wisdom of the concerns that we raised," Yee said. "It's a no-brainer for those of us who have been the recipient of these kinds of discriminatory acts."
State Assemblyman Ted Lieu, a Democrat from the Los Angeles area, said he would target corporate sponsors if the LPGA persisted with its English requirement.
"I'm pleased they have come to their senses," he said.
Bivens' announcement came two hours before the Asian Pacific American Legal Center planned a news conference in Los Angeles to demand the LPGA overturn its policy.
"Until they completely retract it, issue an apology to the players and the fans, I think we'll remain very concerned and interested in what happens," said Gerald D. Kim, a senior staff attorney for the center. "The LPGA has gone about this totally the wrong way."
One of the tour's title sponsors, State Farm, already weighed in this week by saying it was "dumbfounded."
"We don't understand this and we don't know why they have done it," State Farm spokesman Kip Diggs told Advertising Age on its Web site. "And we have strongly encouraged them to take another look at this."
Bivens said the tour will continue to help international players through a cultural program that has been in place for three years and offers tutors and translators.
Earlier this week, Bivens sent a 1,200-word memo to the LPGA membership to outline the goal behind the new policy. She said players would never be required to be fluent or even proficient in English, rather get by on fundamental aspects that would enhance the tour and the players.
She argued that international players who could communicate effectively in English would improve the pro-am experience, sponsor relations and could help land endorsements for the players.
"We do not, nor will we ever, demand English fluency, or even proficiency, from our international players," she wrote. "To the contrary, we are asking that they demonstrate a basic level of communication in English at tournaments in the United States in situations that are essential to their job as a member of the LPGA Tour."
Yee said he understood the tour's goal of boosting financial support, but disagreed with the method.
"In 2008, I didn't think an international group like the LPGA would come up with a policy like that," Yee said. "But at the end of the rainbow, the LPGA did understand the harm that they did."
The lawmaker said he will continue with his request to the Legislative Counsel's Office, as a way to prevent similar policies in the future.
Lieu said the LPGA's explanation made it seems as though the tour felt it more important to socialize with sponsors than to play golf.
"If you're a sports fan, you should be outraged," Lieu said.