"Anyway, there's only one word you can use to describe Compton's story. Heartwarming."

I missed Erik Compton's press conference but you can read Ron Kroichick's story or Gene Wojciechowski's ESPN.com column to get up to speed on the best storyline this week.

Last Monday was different. He was tired (try walking 36 holes under normal circumstances, much less with a transplanted heart and the pressure of Open qualifying), but this time Compton kept grinding away. If he two-putted on the final hole of regulation, he was in. Instead, he three-jacked from 30 feet.

"I went down to the locker room and screamed at myself for a few minutes," he said. "Then I was eerily calm. I knew it was my time. I wasn't going to let anybody take it from me."

A kick-in par on the third playoff hole earned him the final Open spot from the sectional. Five days later he was standing on the No. 1 tee box at Pebble for a nine-hole mini-practice round. He had walked parts of the course years ago, but had never played it -- until this past Saturday.

"Pretty special place, man," he said, not bothering to hide the excitement in his voice.