Putter Gets Hot At Colonial

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson had a nice first round at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. He finished at -3, T23. The real story of the day though was his hot putter. He was "droppin' bombs" left and right all day.  He had six putts over 10', with the longest being 29'-6".  He had the 3rd best "Strokes Gained Putting" stat of the day with +4.69.

He'll be teeing off for round 2 at 12:33 CT along with Carl Petterson and Henrik Stenson.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

The Last Rodeo in Texas

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be teeing it up again after a week off.  He, and the rest of the PGA Tour, will be competing in the  Crowne Plaza Invitational at the Colonial Country Club in Dallas.  This week marks the fourth and final PGA Tour event in Texas for the 2013 season and is also the second week in a row that the Tour has been in Dallas.

Michael will be playing the first two rounds with Henrik Stenson and Carl Petterson.  They tee off from the first hole at 7:33am CT.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

Gaining Ground at Even Par

Michael Thompson putts on the 17th Hole at TPC Sawgrass during Round 3

by Randy Roberts

Michael had a bit of an up-and-down round which in the end, resulted in even par.  The highlights of the day were an eagle on 16 and a long 21' par saving putt on 18.  Playing in the morning wave proved beneficial as he was able to finish before conditions worsened and caused an end to round 3 before daylight fell. Even par turned out to be an above average score for the day and he moved up to T58.

Round three will be completed early on sunday by the remaining players on the course and then round four will commence shortly thereafter. It looks like he will be paired with Charles Howell III.

Update: Michael will be teeing off at 10:01 ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Online Streaming

Cut Watch at the Players

by Roz Roberts III

After finishing his first round going eagle-birdie, Michael Thompson started his second round with a double bogey and never quite found his groove on Friday at the Players Championship.  He managed three birdies on the day but he also had four bogeys.  Michael came to the 18th hole at three over par for the day needing a birdie to guarantee he'd make the cut.  His drive found the fairway and his approach left him with a 7 foot 8 inch putt for birdie.  Unfortunately, his birdie putt didn't fall  and he finished his round outside the cut line at even par for the tournament tied for 77th early in the day.

After his round, Michael sounded a little frustrated when he Tweeted

Gave myself a chance on the last but still just another missed cut.

However, Michael might not have looked at the afternoon's weather report.  Winds were scheduled to pick up and the greens were expected to dry out and get firm and fast.  Based on those conditions it seemed likely that scores were going to go up and the cut line would move closer to Michael's score of even par.

As golfer after golfer succumbed to the difficult course under difficult conditions, the cut line steadily moved up until the end of the day when Michael was safely inside the cut, tied for 63rd.

After it became clear he was safe, via Twitter, Michael said

I admit I spoke too soon. Now I'm excited to get 2 more rounds under my belt on this golf course.

It is the second year in a row that Michael has made the cut at the Players which is known as one of the deepest fields of the year.  Last year, in his first attempt, Michael finished tied for 51st.  He'll be looking to improve on that as he plays the weekend.  The course is expected to be setup with difficult pin placements and the weather should provide harder and faster conditions on the weekend so scores are expected to go up over the next couple of days.

Michael will be paired with Padraig Harrington during the third round.  The duo will tee of at 9:10am from the first hole.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Online Streaming

It's In the Hole!!!

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson came to the eighth hole at TPC Sawgrass needing a little momentum and, boy, did he find it.

The day had gotten off to a great start when Michael had three consecutive birdies on holes 11 through 13 which left him at three under par after just four holes.  Unfortunately, a wayward tee shot on hole #14 led to a bogey and his round sort of stalled from there.  Missed birdie putts on 15 and 17 prevented the round from really taking off and when Michael made the turn on hole #1 things got a little dicey.  A three putt bogey on hole #1 was followed by a bounce back birdie but two more bogeys in the next three holes left Michael back at even par lingering around the cut line.

After a couple of pars Michael came to the 233 yard par 3 eight hole in search of something special.  Charl Swartzel was the first to tee off and he knocked his tee shot to 2 feet 5 inches.  It was the closest approach of the day.

Not to be outdone, Michael followed with a beauty of his own.  A three iron, struck perfectly, found the green and began to track towards the hole.  Michael said,

We were kind of watching and it landed pretty similar to Charl's, and a couple people behind me said, go in, disappear, disappear, and we saw it tracking.  It was kind of like that Golf Tee video game where the ball just kind of, boop, disappears, and then obviously the crowd confirmed it.

The ball found the bottom of the cup for Michael's first hole in one on the PGA Tour.  It was only the 6th ace on hole #8 in Players Championship history and the first since 2000.

Michael followed the ace with a birdie on his last hole of the day - the par 5 #9.  The eagle-birdie finish left him at three under par and tied for 17th going into tomorrow's second round.

The ace on hole # 8 wasn't Michael's only highlight on a par three on Thursday.  He also landed his tee shot on the par 3 13th hole to about 3 and half feet.



Second Round
Michael will once again be paired with Charl Swartzel and Chris Kirk.  They tee off from the first hole at 8:29am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Live Streaming

Thompson Teeing it Up at the Players

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson and one of the best fields of the year will tee off tomorrow at the Players Championship.  The Players is often called the unofficial fifth major, primarily because its large prize pool brings in one of the deepest fields of any tournament.  The Players is also known for its host course, TPC Sawgrass, and its famous par 3 17th hole and its island green.

Michael will be playing the first two rounds with Chris Kirk and Charl Scwartzel.  The trio gets their first round underway at 1:39pm ET on the tenth hole.

PGATour.com will be streaming live coverage of holes 13 and 17 and Golf Channel will be airing coverage of the first two rounds..

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Live Streaming

Tough Start in NOLA

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson got off to a bad start during his first round at the Zurich Classic on Thursday.  He had a double bogey on his first hole and was never able to get anything going after that.  He had his chances but the putter was cold and he only converted a single birdie putt on the day.

He'll look to turn things around today during round two where he will once again be playing with Rickie Fowler and Ernie Els.  They tee off at 7:30am CT.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Thompson Returns to New Orleans For The Zurich Classic

by Randy Roberts

This week, Michael Thompson is playing at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana.  As many of you know, Michael played at Tulane in New Orleans for the first several years of college. After hurricane Katrina, the men's golf program was disbanded and Michael transferred to the University of Alabama, where he finished out his colleg golf career.

Michael will be teeing off at 12:30 local time and will be in a "Featured Group" including Ernie Els and Rickie Fowler.  He may get some tv time as a result, so make sure to tune in.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Round 1 Recap at the RBC Heritage

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson had a nice round today at the RBC Heritage. He shot one over par and is T80.  Despite the one over par score, he hit some good shots.  Both his driving accuracy and GIR stats were above average for the field.  His Strokes-Gained-Putting stat was positive, which is also a good thing to see  Looking at his ShotTracker data, the biggest mistakes I saw was that he hit it into the water twice. He did it the first time on hole 4, however he was able to hole out from where he took a drop after doing so, thus saving par.  The second time was on hole 18, which resulted in one of three bogeys for the day.  The third bogey was the result of hitting into a greenside bunker and not making the sand save.  I'm looking for him to make a move up the leaderboard tomorrow, although I hear there is some heavy wind forecast, which may make things interesting.

Tee Time
Michael will be teeing off at 12:40 ET with Brian Gay and Stewart Cink

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Thompson Looks To Keep Masters Momentum

by Randy Roberts

The PGA Tour returns this week to the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Harbour Town is one of the shortest courses of the year and has some of the smallest greens, so accuracy off the tee and with approach shots will be key.  Greens-In-Regulation and Driving Accuracy will be two stats to keep an eye on.   Michael has played at this tournament twice before. He has one missed cut (2011) and a T-20 (2012).  He'll be looking to keep his momentum from the final round at the Masters where he shot a field leading -5 on Sunday.

Tee Time
Michael will be teeing off at 8:00 am ET with Brian Gay and Stewart Cink

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

What a Round!

Michael checks the yardage before hitting his second shot at the par 5 13th hole during the fourth round of the Masters,

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson had a fantastic Sunday at the Masters.  For the day, he shot a field leading five under par 67 which moved him up the leaderboard into a tie for 25th.  He completed the front nine at one under par after he had two birdies and a lone bogey.  Those two birdies were the first of the week for Michael on the front nine.

Michael's round really took off at Amen Corner (holes 11, 12, and 13).  For the second time, Michael had two birdies through the famous three hole stretch including one at hole #12 which he must love.  For the week Michael had three birdies on the par three 12th hole and he played Amen Corner at five under par with five birdies and not a single bogey.  To put that in perspective, there were two 10's recorded at the 12th hole during the fourth round alone and both the 11th and 12th hole averaged more than .2 shots above par for the tournament.

Michael also managed to birdie the par five 15th hole and the par three 16th hole to card a four under back nine.  The round was a personal best for Michael at Augusta National.

Michael's success came from his game plan and some improved putting

Today my goal was to basically play this course uphill, try and leave myself below the hole every time. And it didn't work all the time, but it made the course a lot easier. Overall I was playing smart golf and then I made a lot more putts today. 

For his efforts on the week, Michael will be leaving Augusta National with a few goodies.  First he'll be leaving with some crystal.  He'll get a pair of crystal goblets for his eagle on Thursday and a vase for having the low round of the day on Sunday.  He'll also be leaving with some positive memories

The greens were a bit more receptive.  It was nice for me to get a good round under my belt on this golf course that hopefully in the future I can continue to build off that, but it definitely made the course more fun - which is what the Masters is all about.

In addition to that, he'll bank around $56K and 42 Fedexcup points so he'll move up to 16th on the Fedex Cup list and he'll be 14th on the money list.  He also moved up to 45th on the OWGR list.

Video
You can watch each of the four birdies Michael had on the back 9 during the fourth round by following the link below.  Once there, select the "Scores and Stats" tab and then click on any of the green circled birdies in round 4.

http://www.masters.com/en_US/players/player_32150.html#

Masters Round 4 Photos

Michael takes his second shot on the par 5 13th hole.

Michael sits over his third shot on hole #13.

Michael makes his birdie putt on hole #13.

Michael acknowledges the crowd after his birdie on hole #13

Michael takes his third shot at the par 5 15th hole.

Michael watches his third shot on hole #15

Redemption

Michael watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during the fourth round of the Masters. 

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson started his week at the 2013 Masters by making an eagle on the same 15th hole he called a penalty on himself during the last time he played the Masters in 2008. Redemption.

After missing the cut in his first go around at the Masters, Michael made the cut in his first Masters as a professional.  Redemption.

After posting a disappointing 7 over par 79 during on Saturday, Michael went out and shot a field leading 67 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 25th.  Redemption.

Adam Scott lost the lead in the 2012 Open Championship with the finish line in sight when his putter let him down.  Sunday saw Scott come from behind to claim his first major and Australia's first Masters victory with two clutch birdie putts; one at the 72nd hole and one on the second hole of the sudden death playoff.  Redemption.

This is why we love sports.  They provide moments of pure heartache and redemptive moments of pure joy.  Sports mimic life but they also compress all of those emotions into a small time-frame were we can sit in front of our televisions or computers and collectively hold our breaths, knash our teeth, or celebrate the joy of redemption.

Thompson's Game Runs South as If Being Chased by Roscoe P. Coltrane

by Randy Roberts and Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson had a tough day at the office.  He had a rough go of it on the front nine, finishing that half of the course at 6 over par.  Things got a little better with some birdies on the back 9 including a chip in "from the trees" on 17, but overall the round didn't go well.  When the round finally came to an end, he was at +7 for the day.  Despite not having the kind of round he would have hoped for, he sounded upbeat as usual when he tweeted a funny anecdote about his wife Rachel.

@mslickthompson : "Quote of the day: @RVThompson2 to me: 'You putted like s**t today... but I still love you!' Hahahaha. She always makes me laugh!

In support of Rachel's assessment,  Michael had three 3-putts on Saturday.  During the first two rounds, he had only had one.  In addition to the putter being cold today, his irons were also a little off.  Despite hitting 11 out of 14 fairways (his best round so far) he only hit 50% of the greens in regulation which was his lowest total for any of the first three rounds.

One of the few bright spots in the round came on 17 when Michael made an unexpected birdie.  Writer Adam Schupak, who traveled to Israel earlier in the year with both Michael and Rachel, commented on the birdie on 17:

@GolfweekSchupak7h: @mslickthompson @rvthompson2 Your putting on 17 never looked better! #HoleOut #BirdieFromTrees 

Fourth Round Tee Time
Michael tees off at 9:40 ET with Ryo Ishikawa

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Note that there's no Shot Tracker this week.

Television Times

• Sun, Apr 14

• 
  2:00-7:00ET

Live Streaming Schedule
Masters.com will be streaming live video from various holes and even the driving range.  The schedule is listed below. 

10:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.        Amen Corner live video coverage (holes 11, 12, 13)

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.        Masters - On The Range live video coverage

11:45 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.        Hole Nos. 15 and 16 live video coverage

12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.        Featured Group 1 live video coverage

12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.        Featured Group 2 live video coverage

3:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.          Masters In-Depth live video coverage highlights

You can find the streaming page here:  http://www.masters.com/en_US/live/index.html

Masters App

The Masters has their own iPhone app. One nice feature is that if you add a player to your favorites list, it will notify you when that player is playing the holes that are live-streamed online.

Photos

Michael's tee shot on hole #12 would lead to his first birdie of round 3 at the Masters.

Michael's birdie putt on hole #12 finds the bottom of the cup during the third round of the Masters.

Michael takes his third shot on hole #15 from the greenside bunker during round 3 of the Masters.

Michael and his caddie, Matt Bednarski, discuss the tee shot on hole #16 during the third round of the Masters.

Thompson Makes the Cut at the Masters

Michael made this 25 footer for birdie on 12

by Randy Roberts and Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson played a great round of golf in the second round of the 2013 Masters.  He made 3 birdies, all of which came on the back nine. Finishing at -1 for the day, even par overall, he's tied for 27th going into Saturday's third round. In today's blog post, Rachel Thompson remarked about how well he played the back nine.

"Michael made a couple of clutch par putts coming in, especially on 14 and 17, with tap in pars on 15 and 16. And he played hole 18 perfectly, with a perfect tee shot down the middle, an approach to about 5 feet, and then a birdie putt to finish at -1 for the day, even for the tournament. He hit every green in regulation on the back nine and just looked so solid and confident out there all day."

You can read the whole blog post at the link below.
Fade Friday by Rachel Thompson 

Michael tees off at 12:25 ET and is paired with David Toms.  The last time he was paired with David Toms was at the 2012 US Open, which turned out pretty good (T-2nd), so hopefully the pairing brings good golf mojo to Michael again.

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Note that there's no Shot Tracker this week.

Television Times

Sat, Apr 13

• 
  3:00-7:00ET

Sun, Apr 14

• 
  2:00-7:00ET

Live Streaming Schedule
Masters.com will be streaming live video from various holes and even the driving range.  The schedule is listed below. 

10:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.        Amen Corner live video coverage (holes 11, 12, 13)

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.        Masters - On The Range live video coverage

11:45 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.        Hole Nos. 15 and 16 live video coverage

12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.        Featured Group 1 live video coverage

12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.        Featured Group 2 live video coverage

3:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.          Masters In-Depth live video coverage highlights

You can find the streaming page here:  http://www.masters.com/en_US/live/index.html

Masters App

The Masters has their own iPhone app. One nice feature is that if you add a player to your favorites list, it will notify you when that player is playing the holes that are live-streamed online.

Photos

Michael watches his tee shot on hole #12 with interest.  He would go on to birdie the hole.

Michael hits his third shot on the par 5 15th hole.

Michael watches his tee shot on the par 3 16th hole.

Mastering the 15th

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson had a pretty good first round at the 2013 Masters.  He shot 1 over par including 4 bogeys, 1 birdie and 1 eagle.  He sits T-46th going into round 2.  The cut will be drawn at the top 50 players and anyone within 10 shots of the lead.

The highlight of the day came on the 15th hole, which he famously called a penalty on himself back in 2008.  His approach shot landed about five feet away from the hole.  Gravity, lack of wind, and Newton's Laws of Motion ensured that the ball did not move this time, and he went on to make the eagle putt.

Thompson's approach shot on 15 landed about 5' away from the hole

Michael was interviewed by a Tuscon news station after his round, and he sounded pretty pleased.

Tucson News Now

Michael tees off on friday at 1:08 PM and will be grouped again with John Senden and John Huh.

Michael's wife Rachel talked about today's round in her latest blog post which you can find at the link below.
"Thin Thursday" by Rachel Thompson

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Note that there's no Shot Tracker this week.

Television Times

Fri, Apr 12

• 
  3:00-7:30p
• 
  8:00-11:00p

Sat, Apr 13

• 
  3:00-7:00p

Sun, Apr 14

• 
  2:00-7:00p

Live Streaming Schedule
Masters.com will be streaming live video from various holes and even the driving range.  The schedule is listed below. 

10:45 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.        Amen Corner live video coverage (holes 11, 12, 13)

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.        Masters - On The Range live video coverage

11:45 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.        Hole Nos. 15 and 16 live video coverage

12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.        Featured Group 1 live video coverage

12:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.        Featured Group 2 live video coverage

3:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.          Masters In-Depth live video coverage highlights

You can find the streaming page here:  http://www.masters.com/en_US/live/index.html