Greg Hansen is a sports writer for the Arizona Daily Star and if you've followed the Thompson Tide you've probably seen links to pieces he's written over the years. Yesterday, following the inaugural Thompson Invitational junior tournament in Tucson, AZ, Greg wrote a great article on Michael.
Here's the first part of the article to whet your appetite and you can follow the link at the bottom to read the whole thing.
by Greg Hansen
Arizona Daily Star
As he was standing in a buffet line Saturday, choosing between fettuccine and meatballs, Michael Thompson said the one thing all working men would like to be able to say on a hot August night.
"I'm playing in the PGA championship next week and the FedEx Cup after that."This is a man who has already banked $1,226,834 this year and could double it before Labor Day.
This is a man whose summer schedule has included work in England, Canada, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and, well, anywhere that Tiger and Phil go.
Before Thompson left Oro Valley Country Club, one of the 60 junior golfers playing in the eponymous Thompson Invitational asked if he could see Thompson's PGA Tour card.
It was as if he wanted proof.
Is there really a PGA Tour card at the end of the golfing rainbow? Can life be that good?
Thompson opened his wallet and passed his card to the junior golfers.
"When I was your age," he said, "I told my friends at (Rincon/University) high school that I was going to be on the PGA Tour. They would just laugh. I never let anybody tell me it wasn't possible."
Mike and Beth Thompson sat at a dinner table Saturday night as their son spoke about his life. I watched them as much as I watched Michael handle himself so ably. Their eyes glistened. Can you imagine the pride?
This is no accident. You don't finish No. 2 at the U.S. Open, or runner-up at the U.S. Amateur, because you got hot. Thompson climbed to No. 57 on the FedEx Cup rankings for the same reason he earned 21 merit badges and became an Eagle scout. He put in the work.
"Michael is so positive," said Susie Meyers, a former UA star and LPGA regular who became his golf mentor 13 years ago. "You knew he'd be successful at whatever he chose."
Catch the rest of the article here:
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