U.S. Open notes: Compton has 'nothing to lose' in final round

PINEHURST, N.C. - Erik Compton is one of the best stories at the U.S. Open, particularly when you consider that six years ago he watched the national championship on television at his Florida home less than a month removed from his second heart transplant.

So many know about Compton's story that they forget he can play some golf, too. He proved that Saturday by firing a 3-under-par 67 - one of only two sub-par scores in the third round - and moving into a tie for second place at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club's No. 2 course.

"I have nothing to lose," said Compton, 34, who has a 54-hole score of 3-under 207. "Nobody expects me to do anything. I think everybody in the top 10 has won a tournament or won a major, and if I go out and shoot 90 I don't think anybody will be surprised. But if I shoot 67 again, you may be surprised."

At 9, Compton was given a diagnosis of viral cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle is inflamed and unable to pump effectively. He underwent his first transplant at age 12, and eventually made all-American at Georgia and played on the 2001 U.S. Walker Cup team.

However, he suffered a near-fatal heart attack in October 2007 and waited seven months before receiving the heart of a University of Dayton volleyball player who was killed in a hit-and-run accident.

Compton, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, had an amazing stretch Saturday of five birdies in seven holes in the middle of the round. He has a "don't-give-up" attitude, something he has practiced amid his health issues.

"I'm just trying to execute and then move on to the next shot," he said. "I guess that's kind of reflective of how I always lived my life. If you have a bad situation or a bad day, you get up and try to do it again."

Despite his continuing struggles on the green, Phil Mickelson has managed to keep his sense of humor.

"If I hit it better and make some putts [Sunday], I think I can shoot 4 or 5 under par, end around even, and finish second again," he said.

Mickelson, a six-time runner-up at the U.S. Open, said he actually "putted really good" Saturday in a round of 72 that left him at 215.

Defending champion Justin Rose again saw his short game betray him on occasion, but he rallied on the back nine and posted a 70 that left him in a tie for 10th at 211.

Rose shot a 33 on the back nine with three birdies. But he was disappointed with a four-hole stretch that included a double bogey at No. 9, a par at the par-5 10th after reaching the front edge of the green in 2, and a bogey at 12.

"I dropped 4 shots with my short game," he said. "I knifed it out of the bunker on 9, which should have been a very routine up and down. [Making] those shots allows me to dream going into [Sunday] that it's possible. Today I needed something special."