Erik Compton, inspiring beyond the gallery ropes

A sense of humour has always helped Erik Compton, a man on his third heart. He jokes that the movie Braveheart is his favourite; and, all jokes aside, he is living proof of the success of advances in medical science. The recipient of two successful heart transplants, Compton is one of those stories that inspire beyond the gallery ropes.

So it has been here at this 114th US Open, where Compton – who was diagnosed with a condition called viral cardiomyopathy before his teenage years – has used his own life story for inspiration. As his Norwegian mother Eli recalled here of how they instilled courage in her son after his first transplant as a 12-year-old, "we said you will have the heart of a champion and he took that on".

Compton – who went into the final round in tied-second alongside Rickie Fowler in pursuit of Martin Kaymer – had played a practice round prior to the championship with Ernie Els, Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel, a gatecrasher in on the familiar Springbok grouping and all of them Major champions. “I joked around with them, told them I was the Mexican Open champion,” said Compton, of his win on the web.com tour that had been the highpoint of his career.

Health issues

That he has overcome his health issues is a tribute to the man that he is, his family and the medical profession. His condition, viral cardiomyopathy, is one which inflames the heart so that it can’t pump blood hard enough to function long term. He was first diagnosed as a nine-year-old, underwent a first heart transplant in 1992 at the age of 12.

“When I got wheeled out of the operating room, and they have it on camera, I said I would still be a professional baseball player. My parents have always done a really great job of pushing me to be a normal kid and a normal child. Sports was something that I lived for and something that they pushed me to do. They encouraged me to play baseball, football, basketball and they were good at telling me how good I was at it instead of beating me up. I made that a focus,” he said of his sporting upbrining.

But golf is what sucked him in. Compton excelled on the collegiate circuit in the United States. He was the number one-ranked junior golfer in the country when he accepted a golfing scholarship to the University of Georgia, where he went on to become a two-time All-American and represented the United States in the 2001 Palmer Cup and Walker Cup matches.

In 2007, he suffered a heart attack and drove himself to the hospital. The average time a transplanted heart can last is about 15 years. “My heart was working at about 20 per cent of normal at that point. The question was whether they would be able to find a donor before it shut down completely.” A year later, Compton underwent a second transplant.

Pro ranks

His time in the pro ranks – on either side of his second transplant – has mainly been played on the web.com tour. This season has seen him step up a level, with two top-five finishes (in the Bay Hill Invitational and the New Orleans Classic) coming into his career-defining challenge at Pinehurst.

One of the reasons for his comfort zone at Pinehurst is that he treated it just like another tournament. “I’ve played a lot of golf in my life. Sometimes my great golf is not on the PGA Tour. Maybe it’s at the Canadian Tour, or maybe its at web.com or maybe it’s in Europe somewhere.

“So, for me, it’s the same guys and when I get on the tee, you don’t really pay attention to what’s going on, you’re just trying to hit the golf ball.”

His attitude is one that comes across as full of self-belief. Some describe him as cocky. “He’s always walked onto a golf course believing he can beat anyone,” said his friend Camilo Villegas of Compton’s inner confidence.

He has earned the respect of his peers in the locker room. Rory McIlroy, who has gotten to know him in the last few years on tour, said: “It’s incredible, just to be playing in a US Open, given everything Erik’s went through . . . he’s just a really incredible guy, upbeat and obviously very talented.”

Compton’s story hasn’t just affected modern-day players. Jack Nicklaus, on hearing that Compton had come through the qualifiers, had a word with him. Told him how he could do well at Pinehurst.

“There’s different characters of the game that I feel like I’ve gained strength from and it’s nice to have the greats of the game take an interest in me because of my. They know that people’s backgrounds and life stories are more important than just golf,” he said.