Children's Miracle Network Classic Golf Tournament officials granted a sponsors' exemption to golfer Erik Compton.

Compton has overcome two heart transplants to continue playing golf and earn a spot in the second stage of the PGA Tour qualifying school by shooting a 4-under-par 68, the low score of the day, in the final round of the first stage Friday.

That feat came only five months after Compton's second heart transplant, the first being when he was 12. The PGA Tour granted Compton, 28, the right to use a cart during qualifying stages, as it should have. At 9, 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 and went on to become a No. 1-ranked junior, a two-time All-American at Georgia and a member of the Walker Cup team in 2001. He turned pro later that year, has played mostly on the Nationwide Tour and qualified for several PGA Tour events.

The Children's Miracle Network Classic, which will be Compton's first PGA Tour start in three years, is Nov. 6-9 at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Bob Tway, Lee Janzen and Scott McCarron also received sponsors exemptions to the Fall Series finale, where players will be scrambling for the final spots among the top 125 money winners and exempt status for 2009.