Erik Compton was hoping he would be in Augusta this week for two reasons: to pick up an award Wednesday night from the Golf Writers Association of America, and to play in the Masters Tournament starting today.

Erik Compton had hoped to be competing in this year's Masters Tournament but failed to qualify. He still had an invitation to be in Augusta, however, to receive the Ben Hogan Award, which recognizes someone who is an active golfer despite a serious illness. (Chris Thelen/Staff)

He made it to the golf writers awards banquet.

The Masters start was a long shot for Compton, but he is used to that.

The former University of Georgia golfer is thought to be the only professional athlete to remain active in his sport after two heart transplants.

To make the Masters field at Augusta National Golf Club, Compton needed to win the Honda Classic, the Puerto Rico Open or the Arnold Palmer Invitational, all of which were in March.

He played in those three PGA Tour events on sponsor exemptions and finished in a tie for 44th at the Honda and missed the cut in the other two.

Playing in the Masters is "still in the future," Compton said during a visit Wednesday to Augusta National. "Maybe one day."

"He loves it here," said Compton's wife, Barbara. "Maybe next year he can be here playing."

Compton was a natural to win the golf writers' Ben Hogan Award, which goes to the person who has continued to be active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness.

"People say, 'How do you do it? How do you have two heart transplants, a heart attack and still walk around and play golf?' and I say it's just because I'm blessed," Compton said Wednesday night at the awards dinner, which was held at Savannah Rapids Pavilion.

Compton called winning the Hogan award "awesome."

"Obviously, he had a major car accident and to overcome it and play is a similar story to me. I think my situation is a little different. He was a helluva player. Anytime your name is next to somebody like that, it's a great honor," Compton said.

Another similarity between Compton and Hogan is that they used their "stubborn personality," as Compton calls it, to overcome adversity.

"I'm sort of obsessive," Compton said. "I'll hit thousands of golf balls and wear myself out."

In the week leading up to the Honda Classic in March, Compton played a pair of 36-hole rounds.

"If you give me opportunity, I just keep on going. I won't stop. My wife and friends and family have to say, 'Hey, take it easy.' "

Considering Compton's medical history, the fact that he was able to play in those three tournaments in March is amazing in itself.

Compton, 29, had his first heart transplant when he was 12. After an All-American career at Georgia, he left school after his junior year and played on the Nationwide and Canadian tours, and won the Hussan II Golf Trophy in Morocco in 2005.

His golf career was halted in October 2007 when he suffered a massive heart attack, which led to a second heart transplant last May.

Just five months later, Compton made the cut in the PGA Tour stop at Disney. A month after that, he nearly made it to the finals of the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, missing the final stage by a shot.

"What he's done, not only having two heart transplants, but he's been able to play competitive golf at the highest level ..." said Masters rookie Ryuji Imada, who played one year at Georgia with Compton. "It's an amazing story."

Canada native Kelly Murray knows that first hand. He met Compton in 2004 when Compton played the Canadian Tour and won the money title. Since then, Murray has become Compton's regular caddie.

"Golf is a damn tough game when you're healthy," Murray said. "What he's doing is totally incredible. The guy is a real superstar."

Because he has spent so much time in hospitals, and survived to tell the story, Compton says "the greatest shots I ever hit were in the hospital."

Indeed, he said he was thrilled to wake up from his second heart transplant. Typically, he immediately started thinking about golf.

"I knew if things were going to go well that I'd be able to play again," he said. "That's how my mind is. I think I could probably have another one (heart transplant) and still go out and play. That's just how I am. That's just who I am. I feel like I can keep on going, keep on going."

It helps that one of Compton's "greatest personality traits," he said, is that he doesn't dwell on the negative.

"I've been able to forget some of the bad things that happened in my life and put them away and look at the positives," he said. "I can go have a biopsy on Thursday and go hit balls on Thursday night, which for most people, it takes them three days to recover from a biopsy.

"I've been around people who are fighters. I've been around people who have to fight to make it. I've never been handed anything."

It's already been a special year for Compton. He and his wife welcomed their first child Feb. 22. Her name is Petra.

"The greatest rush was to see her born," Compton said. "It was very emotional for me because three hearts later, I'm a part of creating a new life. Whatever happens to me, she's going to eventually know my story and she's going to know how she was brought into this world.

"I never ever thought I would be a father. I never thought I'd make it to college. As far as I've made it, and to look at her and she's healthy, and I had a part in it. ... She's going to grow up and become a woman and have her own children, and somewhere along the way I'll be a story: Her dad was a golfer with two transplants."

Reach David Westin at (706) 823-3224 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.