Golfer with two heart transplants just misses second cut at Q-school
Published 11:27 pm Saturday, November 15, 2008
BROOKSVILLE, Fla. — Erik Compton, playing six months after a second heart transplant, failed to advance by one shot in the second stage of PGA Tour qualifying after he closed with a 1-over 73 on Saturday.
Compton was tied for 13th going into the final round at Southern Hills Plantation Club, but had two bogeys in the opening three holes and never quite caught up. He was even at the turn, but bogeyed the 15th and finished with three pars for a 6-under 282 to tie for 22nd.
Only the top 20 and ties advance to the final stage of Q-school next month in California.
Todd Demsey, who returned to the PGA Tour this year after surgery to remove a golf ball-sized tumor from his brain, closed with a 68 to share medalist honors with Camilo Benedetti at 13-under 275.
Among those to advance at Southern Hills Plantation were former PGA Tour winners Robert Gamez, John Huston, Garrett Willis and Michael Bradley.
The final stage of Q-school will be Dec. 3-8 at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif.
LPGA: Annika Sorenstam made up five strokes on leader Angela Stanford in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, shooting a 5-under 67 to cut her deficit to just a stroke with one round left.
Making her second-to-last start before leaving the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam eagled the par-5 10th and added six birdies. The Swedish star is seeking her third tour victory in Mexico — and first since the 2006 Mastercard Classic.
The 72-time tour champion will need to get past Stanford, the Bell Micro LPGA Classic winner in September who has four straight top-five finishes. Stanford followed opening rounds of 68 and 66 with a 72 on Saturday.
“There’s going to be some pressure,” Stanford said. “She’s one of the legends of our game and she is probably the best of all time. She’s going to play really well. She’s been there 72 times and she knows how to do it and I’m still learning.”
Australia’s Katherine Hull (66) was two strokes back. South Korea’s Jee Young Lee (69) was 7 under and compatriot Sun Young Yoo (70) was another shot behind.
Tournament host Lorena Ochoa celebrated her 27th birthday with her best round of the week, a 70 that left her eight strokes back at 2 under. LPGA Championship winner Yani Tseng, No. 2 in the world behind Ochoa, also was 2 under after a 78.
