"I feel really good about the news," Compton told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "It takes a lot of stress off me, and it gives me a realistic chance."
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Not to take anything away from the near-manic levels of attention given Tiger Woods' surgically repaired left knee, but that was outpatient surgery compared to what Compton has been through.
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Climbing the financial Matterhorn
Forget the sidewalk fans who only tune in when Woods is playing. This is when the tour puts the fall in the Fall Series. Diehards, aficionados and junkies love watching how it plays out as dozens of players face a demotion or a return to Qualifying School.
Over the next seven weeks, the guys on the bubble for the top 125 on the money list careen toward Orlando for the season finale at Walt Disney World, which in golf terms is not the Happiest Place on Earth.
Every year, there are some surprising notables on the death watch, and at the moment that list includes former PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, 2006 Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman and one of his players, Vaughn Taylor, and the Prince of Pinehurst, Jason Gore. All occupy spots between Nos. 123-126. Somebody's bubble is bound to blow.
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Over hill, over dale, overseas?
Two prominent U.S. tour stars are seriously considering joining the European Tour in order to participate in the inaugural 2009 Race to Dubai points sweepstakes, a FedEx Cup-style competition that culminates in a huge-money event in the United Arab Emirates next fall.
PGA Tour icons Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh indicated last week that they are considering filing the requisite paperwork but hadn't completely decided whether to proceed. In the aftermath of a European Tour rule change made Tuesday, they would have to play in 12 sanctioned events to secure membership.
Because the four majors and three WGC events are co-sanctioned by the Euro circuit, that means Mickelson could continue to play in the HSBC stop in China and Scottish Open the week before the British Open, and would need to add two more tournaments to meet the minimum requirement total. (The Race to Dubai finale counts toward the minimum, too.)
For the record, Woods last fall dismissed the notion of taking up Euro membership, even though he has extensive business ties to the Dubai region. Which isn't to say he can't change his mind.
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Nurses for purses
Unless you have been rendered clinically dead, or work at Taco Bell and don't have a retirement plan, the staggering financial news of the past few weeks should not have escaped your attention. The PGA Tour has noticed, that's for certain.
The 2008 schedule includes 13 events that are sponsored or presented by banks, investment firms, credit-card agencies or companies specializing in real estate ventures. Wachovia is being swallowed by another bank, while FBR, the title sponsor in Phoenix, is swimming in red ink, according to reports. The tally doesn't even include the Royal Bank of Scotland, which has ties to three of golf's four major championships. If the tour manages to tap-dance through the financial minefield without losing any sponsors for 2009, I will never again complain that commissioner Tim Finchem is overpaid. Already, one Fall Series event is actively seeking to extricate itself from its tour contract because of the flagging economy.
With TV ratings down, asking a title sponsor to plunk down $7 million has become a harder sell, especially when they have to justify it to the board of directors and shareholders whose stock values have plummeted. After years of impressive growth, Finchem last week acknowledged that purses could conceivably stabilize or fall in the future.
