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Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton won the Mexico Open for his first Nationwide Tour title, closing with a 7-under 65 on Sunday for a two-stroke victory over Richard H. Lee.
The 31-year-old Compton was diagnosed at age 9 with cardiomyopathy, an enlarging of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. Three years later in 1992, he received a new heart. That one failed in 2008, and the former University of Georgia star from Miami had another transplant.
"This tournament has kind of summed up my life," said Compton, set to play the PGA Tour's AT&T National this week in Pennsylvania on a sponsor exemption. "There was a lot of adversity to overcome in this tournament just like what I've dealt with personally.
"To win this is everything to me. I never thought I'd play golf again, at least not at this level, and I proved to myself I'm more than just a guy with two heart transplants."
Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=6707210
