Par 5: Five questions for this week in golf

Par 5: Five questions for this week in golf


Setting the agenda for the week ahead with five questions for tournament golf at large . . . Where does Erik Comptons determination come from?After his breakthrough Nationwide Tour victory in Mexico Sunday, Compton jumps back into the spotlight playing the ATT National on a sponsors exemption this week.If you know Compton, you know joy follows pain as a miraculous pattern in the family history.So it was again this past weekend when Compton won.The Comptons are a wonderfully close family. Bois de parcours Callaway Diablo Edge Theyre also all wonderfully resilient. Eriks two heart transplants are only part of the familys story. Eriks getting back up to fight isnt just the story of his life.Eriks mother, Eli, was at her summer home on the west coast of Norway last week waiting for Eriks father, Peter, to arrive when she was stricken with a terrible intestinal infection. She was hospitalized. With Erik making his run into contention, Eli, who was raised in Norway, also found herself in some psychological pain.The hospitals in Norway dont have Golf Channel, Eli said. I wasnt able to follow what was happening with Erik.Peter was in Sacramento, Calif., tending to Eriks ill grandmother. Callaway Diablo Edge Bois de parcours Christian, Eriks older and only brother, was in Miami, where the Comptons all live. Barbara, Eriks wife, and Petra, Eriks 2½-year-old daughter, were back in Miami, too. We were all over the globe, texting each other, calling, crying after he won, we were so happy, Eli said. Its an amazing ride with this kid, but we were all in so many different time zones, we didnt know if it was morning or night talking to each other.Eli was released from the hospital before the final round, but she had to follow the action on the internet. She was up at 3 a.m. waiting for the score on the final hole to come through the web site. Bois TaylorMade R7 CGB Max When Erik won, Christian called me, but he was so emotional he couldnt speak, Eli said. He had to hang up.Eriks first call was to his wife.Oh my God, he was so happy, Barbara said. It was a dream come true, and now that it looks like Erik will be playing the PGA Tour next year, its another dream coming true.Erik isnt the only Compton to have gone through hell and back to see this glorious victoryEli is a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer eight years ago. Christian broke his neck back when he was in college in a snowboarding accident. TaylorMade Burner SuperFast Driver He was temporarily paralyzed, though hes nearly completely recovered, some minor nerve damage the only remnant of the frightening fall.In my family, a broken necks not enough to complain about, Christian once told me.The Compton family story isnt really about their fearless lives, but about how theyve overcome so much fear.Ill never forget how emotional Eriks father was telling me how he had to say goodbye to Erik before the second heart transplant surgery because they wondered if they were going to see him again, said Jim McLean, the swing coach. This is a strong, supportive family.Peter is a vice president with Royal Caribbean who oversees entertainment for the cruise line.