Thompson Headed To The British Open

Thompson Headed to The British Open England
Thompson Possibly Headed to The British Open England, Maybe


by Randy Roberts

The rewards of finishing runner up at the US Open continue to roll in.  I'm not exactly sure which method was used but Michael Thompson was named the second alternate for The Open Championship. (Editors note: I was able to pass college classes on partial differential equations and Laplace transforms, but the process of selecting the field for the Open Championship confounds me.)   


With both Webb Simpson and Jason Day's wives pregnant and ready to give birth, both of them may have to drop out and miss the tournament, allowing Michael to play.  Dowd Simpson is due in late July, and Webb has already said that he would be skipping the tournament. Ellie Day is due July 11, and Jason has said that he would skip the tournament if the baby hadn't come yet.  Even if Jason Day is able to attend, there are 155 other players who could withdraw due to an injury or other reason.

On twitter, Michael was asked whether he had gotten in the Open, and he confirmed that he was indeed heading across the pond.

“@wesleyhelton: @MSlickThompson Did you get in the Open?” I'm second alternate. Heading over there on Sunday.

If he's able to make it into the confirmed field, it would mark Michael's first time playing in the British Open, and his fourth appearance in a major. 


Update: Turns out it's even more complicated.  I need to get a supercomputer to calculate out the Open Championship field algorithms to work out the details, then I'll post a more elaborate update. Basically, there's no guarantees and Michael's chances may be even more slim.