Erik Compton, still grinding, celebrates 30 years since first heart transplant

Highlights: The Honda Classic, Round 1

0:005:28PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Erik Compton is going to have a great Saturday.

If he makes the cut at the Honda Classic, he’ll be playing a third round at PGA National. If not, he’ll merely have to settle for the 30th anniversary of getting a second chance at life.

The date was Feb. 26, 1992, when Compton – then 12 – got the first of what has become two heart transplants, needed after he was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart becomes inflamed and cannot effectively pump blood. He has battled and battled and battled since, and an opening round of 1-under 69 at the Honda Classic on Thursday was yet another reminder that…