Heart Transplants Won’t Hold Compton Back
Erik Compton Follows Through
When former pro golfer-turned-collegiate coach Casey Martin won his Supreme Court case against the PGA Tour in 2001, he thought the favorable ruling – for the right to use a golf cart in competition because of a degenerative condition called Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome – would begin and end with him.
Not so.
Up-and-comer Erik Compton will be allowed to use a golf cart at the first stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla. The 28-year-old petitioned to use the vehicle at the 72-hole qualifier due to a medical history that includes two heart transplants.
“A review committee of three PGA Tour executives examined Compton’s medical records with the help of a tour medical advisor and ruled in his favor. He will have use of a cart in PGA Tour co-sanctioned events through March 2009, when he can re-apply,” stated this ESPN.com article.
Upon hearing the good news, trailblazer Casey Martin opined, “I love it; I’m taking 50 percent of [Compton’s] earnings.”
He’s not serious, of course. But, just in case: Erik Compton, you might want to play with one hand over your back pocket.
