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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (Oct. 28, 2008) – Former No.1-ranked junior Erik Compton, who has overcome two heart transplants to compete for a spot on the PGA TOUR, and former eight-time PGA TOUR winner Bob Tway have accepted sponsor's exemptions to play in the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart Nov. 6-9 at Walt Disney World Resort.
Compton's uplifting story of perseverance and determination reached new heights last Friday when he posted a 4 under-par 68 to qualify for the second stage of the PGA TOUR Qualifying School just five months after his second heart transplant. Compton struggled through the first 54 holes (76-75-77) before recording the low round of the day among 76 players at the Crandon Park Golf Course in suburban Miami.
Compton, who received his first heart transplant at age 12 as a result of heart disease, competed with 1,100 golfers across the country at 11 courses in the first stage of qualifying that ultimately may lead to earning a PGA TOUR card. The PGA TOUR granted Compton the right to use a cart during qualifying stages.
At age nine, Compton was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, an enlarging of the heart that hinders its ability to pump blood. Three years later in 1992, he received a new heart at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital when he was 12 years old.
Compton, a former No. 1-ranked junior and a two-time All-American at Georgia, was a member of the 2001 Walker Cup team before he turned professional in 2001, playing mostly on the Nationwide Tour but also qualifying for a few PGA TOUR events. He also competed at the Palm and Magnolia courses in 1997, winning the AJGA's Polo Golf Junior Classic.
This event marks Tway's 19th tournament at Disney, dating back to 1985. In 1989, he equaled the single-round record at Disney with a first-round 61 on the Lake Buena Vista course, a tournament mark since broken by Justin Rose (60 in 2006 on the Palm course), but still the course record at LBV.
Tway has recorded three top-10 finishes at Disney: 3rd place (tied) in 1999, 4th place (tied) in 1995 and 9th place (tied) in 2003.
He is currently 135th on the 2008 TOUR money list and will be part of the frenzied scramble at Disney to be among the final top 125 money winners who earn full exemptions for the 2009 PGA TOUR season.
The Children's Miracle Network Classic has four sponsor's exemptions to extend to players who otherwise wouldn't qualify for the field of 128 players that will tee off in the PGA TOUR Fall Series finale on Disney's Palm and Magnolia courses. Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen and Scott McCarron were announced as exemptions Oct. 7.
The defending champion is TOUR veteran Stephen Ames, who joined the likes of Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Jack Nicklaus, Payne Stewart and Raymond Floyd as winners of the prestigious Disney tournament.
Tickets for individual rounds ($20) and badges for Classic week ($30) are available at www.ChildrensMiracleNetworkClassic.com. Net proceeds go to Children's Miracle Network hospitals, including the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies in Orlando, and Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville. Additional information is available on the Classic Hotline, 407/824-2250.
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