Erik

Compton

The 41-year-old, eight back of leader Jordan Spieth, will play out of the fourth-to-last twosome on Sunday with Patton Kizzire. He’s eyeing his sixth career top-10 finish in 164 events, first since T10 at the 2015 Humana Challenge 51 starts ago as a 54-hole co-leader (66-66-67-70). The Miami native, with no PGA TOUR status, could get into the inaugural Palmetto Championship at Congaree in two weeks with a top-10 finish tomorrow. On five (of 14) fairways and 10 greens in regulation, he lost 1.691 strokes off-the-tee but gained 0.296 approaching and 0.226 around-the-green. The University of Georgia product exchanged two birdie-3s at holes 6 and 9, each from between seven and 10 feet, with two bogey-5s at 5 and 10, registering 0.983 SG: Putting with 27 total putts. At the three-quarter pole, Compton ranks 2nd in SGP (7.504) and 23rd in SG: Approach (2.125), though 71st in SG: OTT (-2.538).

The 41-year-old, a two-time heart transplant recipient, makes his 92nd cut in 164 career TOUR events, first since the 2016 Quicken Loans National eight starts ago, where he was T16 at the midpoint before finishing T29 (68-70-68-75). His career best among five top 10s came at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort (No. 2) in his second major start and second U.S. Open, where he was T2 after 54 holes (72-68-67-72) before finishing a distant T2 (with Rickie Fowler), eight adrift of champion Martin Kaymer. On eight (of 14) fairways and 11 greens in regulation, the University of Georgia product lost 0.511 strokes on approach but gained 0.186 off-the-tee and 0.768 around-the-green. He squared a lone bogey-5 at hole 3 (missed par-saver from 5'4"), offset by three circles at 10, 7 and 9, two from between 22 and 35 feet. Compton posted 0.956 SG: Putting with 27 total putts, and 1.398 SG: Total. At the midpoint, he ranks No. 1 in SGP (6.528) though 61st in SG: Off-the-Tee (-0.849). This is the Miami native’s second event of the season after a missed cut by eight at the Honda as an open-qualifier (70-79).

The 41-year-old has played just two PGA TOUR events since 2017 but he’s stayed active on the Korn Ferry circuit. Getting a sponsor’s invite to play this week, Compton is not letting the chance slip away and it started with a hot putter. Compton splashed home six putts outside of nine feet today, four of them to save par, gaining 5.627 strokes putting by day’s end. That will likely go in the books as his career-best putting round (+5.1 SG: Putting in R1 of the 2014 Quicken Loans). After his round, the two-time heart transplant recipient talked about how different it is playing on the PGA TOUR, “My average heart rate today, I looked at my watch, was about 140, and when I play on the Korn Ferry TOUR it’s about 107...You’re playing for different stuff out here. It’s no offense to the Korn Ferry TOUR. This is the biggest stage in golf and you want to perform.” So far, so good, for Compton. This will be the 10th time in his PGA TOUR career that he’s posted inside of the top 5 after round one, but first time doing so since the 2015 Wyndham Championship.

The 41-year-old has 162 career PGA TOUR starts but this will be his first since the 2019 Honda Classic, an event which he also secured a seat through the Monday Q. Compton has been spending his time on the Korn Ferry circuit where he is 10-fo-18 this season with a pair of top 25s. Perhaps a big finish this week will refill his confidence tank down the stretch. Others to play their way in via Monday Q this week are Marcelo Rozo (-9), Zach Zaback (-7), and Stephen Stallings (-6). The latter had to oust Mickey DeMorat in a 2-for-1 playoff. Notables to fall short of qualifying included Justin Suh (-5), MJ Daffue (-5), Akshay Bhatia (-3), and Aaron Baddeley (-2).

Compton traded six birdies and an eagle with one blemish on Monday. He, along with Drew Nesbitt (-7), secured their spot in the field but seven golfers had to return on Tuesday morning for their 7-for-2 playoff. Those golfers included Steve Marino, Hayden Buckley, Danny Walker, Sangmoon Bae, and Ben Taylor. However, it was Blayne Barber and David Pastore who walked away victorious in that playoff to earn a seat in The Honda Classic field. Of the four qualifers, Compton and Barber both own a top 5 at PGA National while Nesbitt and Pastore will be making their tournament debuts.

In the field on a sponsor exemption, Compton made the most of it early, hitting 13 greens and suffering just one bogey. All four of his birdies disappeared from beyond 10 feet, including conversions of 39'9", 14'2" and 19'7" at the 13th, 16th and seventh holes, respectively. He was the last of nine to sign his card while sitting three strokes adrift of the overnight lead.

The PGA TOUR rookie went out in birdie-free, 7-over-par 43 with three bogeys and two doubles. It’s just the third time in 10 starts this year that he will not cash. He’s still without a top 25, however.

He was the seventh alternate when the field was released on Friday, but he gained entry via a sponsor exemption. (He placed T42 in Puerto Rico.) In making his debut at the Transitions, he’ll be playing five consecutive weeks. He hasn’t competed in more than five straight PGA TOUR-sanctioned events since he ended his 2002 season with seven in a row, the last six of which on the Nationwide Tour.

The native of southern Florida is coming off a frenetic T55 at the Mayakoba. He played the last 10 holes of his third round in 6-over-par, but was 5-under on the other 62. He’s 4-for-5 this year but has yet to post a top 40.

He was given a sponsor exemption on Monday. This would have been his fifth consecutive start. He’s already been given a sponsor exemption into next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, so it’s quite possible that he’s chosen to rest a week. This is to be expected with his medical history.