Golfer Erik Compton puts heart and soul into his game

More than any other PGA Tour player, Erik Compton can do without the additional stress.

But there he was again, two shots over the cut line with two holes to play at The Barclays, needing to make the cut to at least have an outside chance of moving on to the next tournament in the FedEx Cup play-offs. He had already played 31 holes that day because of rain delays, and his tank was empty.

But his heart? No one questions that.

This is the scrappy Florida kid who took up golf after a heart transplant when he was 12. The same guy who suffered a heart attack in 2007 and, with his heart pumping at 15 per cent capacity and his foot on the accelerator, drove himself to the hospital while calling everyone to tell them he loved them because he thought it was over. He had his second heart transplant six months later.

He went birdie-birdie at The Barclays to make the cut.

"Some guys focus like every hole is the last hole. And I need to play like that every week," Compton said. "Your energy level plays a major factor in how you think. Sucking it up, basically that's what I've been doing my life - figuring out how to play golf when you're not at your best."