Friday, April 26, 2013

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

Thursday, April 25, 2013

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

Thursday, April 18, 2013

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

RBC Heritage
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

Sunday, April 14, 2013

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.


Friday, April 12, 2013

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.



Thursday, April 11, 2013

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

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Thompson Returns to the Masters

photo by Rachel Thompson
by Randy Roberts

After what seems like a full week of run up, it's finally time to tee off at the Masters.  Michael will be playing with John Senden and John Huh at 10:12 am. Note that the television coverage will be on ESPN instead of the Golf Channel.

If you haven't seen it yet, Michael's wife Rachel has been blogging daily while at the Masters. You can read them at the links below.  Today's blog talked about what it was like to caddy during the par 3 tournament and included some photos of the action.

Rachel Thompson's Blog Posts From the Masters
Waggle Wednesday
Master-ful Pictures
Tap in Tuesday
Masters Monday

Also, you may have read about Michael's experiences at the 2008 Masters, where as an amateur he called a penalty on himself. If you'd like to read more about what was said at the time, or even see video of the incident, you can review our "2008 Masters" page by clicking here.

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

Television Times

Thu, Apr 11
  • 3:00-7:30p
  • 8:00-11:00p
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
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


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

What's Up at the Masters Today?

During Michael Thompson's practice round on Monday he tried his hand at skipping the pond at the 16th hole.  Photo by Mike Holmes.
by Roz Roberts III

Good Press
As Masters Week continues, Michael Thompson got some good press from a couple of sources on Tuesday.

First, Michael's day got started early at the Augusta Golf Breakfast where he was the featured speaker.  Based on all early reports the breakfast went great.
Short Video From Augusta Golf Breakfast:  video
 Here's a nice recap from the Augusta Chronicle:  Michael Thompson shares faith at golf breakfast

Second, as he promised after the Shell Houston Open, Jason Sobel wrote a nice article on Michael and his previous Masters experience.  It is a great article and well worth the read.
Thomspon Returns to Masters Five Years After Penalizing Himself

Miscellaneous Masters Tidbits

  • On the golf course, Michael got in some practice with Kevin Streelman and Jerry Pate as they played the front nine together on Tuesday.
  • Tee times have been announced and Michael will be paired with John Sendon and John Huh.  The trio tees off at 10:12am ET.  All golfers start from the first tee.
  • If you were confused by the lead picture and its caption, skipping the pond at the 16th hole is a Masters tradition.  You can read about it here:  Skipping Tradition
  • Wednesday features another Masters tradition:  the par 3 contest.  The event will streamed live from 3pm ET from the Masters website:  Masters Live Streams.  It will also be aired live on ESPN from 3-5pm ET.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Thompson to Speak at Masters Prayer Breakfast

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be the featured speaker at the annual Augusta Golf Breakfast at the Warren Baptist Church.  The event is free and provides a featured speaker at the Masters an opportunity to share their faith.  You can read all about the breakfast here:

Michael Thompson to speak at Masters Week prayer breakfast

Managing Practice

Michael Thompson enjoyed a practice round with Phil Mickelson at thte 2008 Masters
by Roz Roberts III

One of the things Michael Thompson has learned over the last few years on the PGA Tour is how to manage his practice schedule.  That hasn't always been easy since many of the courses he's played in the last three years have been new to him.  However, this week's course at Augusta National is one that he has some experience with.

He played Augusta in 2008 as an amateur where he played a full schedule of 6 full rounds in 6 days.  He burned himself out that year.  "By Friday I was done" he said.  Michael will pace himself much more at the Masters this time through.

Over the last few weeks Michael has snuck in a practice round at Augusta here and there and traveled to Augusta late last week to get ready.  He played a full round Sunday with Masters Champion Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan.  That will be his last full round until Thursday.

This week he'll limit his schedule to play the back 9 on Monday and the front 9 on Tuesday.  Wednesday will be filled with a little practice and the par 3 contest.

If you haven't watched the par 3 contest at the Masters, it's a must see.  It will be aired on ESPN Wednesday from 3-5pm ET.  It will also be streamed live on the masters website:

http://test.masters.org/en_US/scores/par3contest/index.html


Saturday, April 6, 2013

Who Signed This???


My daughter's prized "Mikey Hat".  If the signature is not legible it's because it has faded due to extreme use and abuse from an eight year old's constant use - not because the signature was scribbled. 


by Roz Roberts III

If you've ever been to a PGA tournament, you'll have seen kids and adults alike collecting golfers' signatures on a tournament flag.  You can tell the people that have done it before because they keep a "cheat sheet" on the back where they write the player's name in same relative location as the front so they can tell who signed it later.  That's because most of the signatures are completely illegible.  That isn't the case for Michael Thompson's signature.

At the urging of his caddie Matt Bednarski, Michael has been working on his signature in an effort to make it legible.  His goal has been to make it clear not only on paper but also on such hard to write on objects as golf balls, gloves, hats and the like.  The effort has not gone without notice from family, friends, fans and now even AP golf write Doug Ferguson.

Ferguson wrote an interesting article on golf signatures that includes the following quote from Michael:
I give credit to Matt. He told me to make it legible. I changed it to write every letter, to emulate Arnold Palmer. He has probably the greatest signature in history. You can't read 70 percent of the names on a flag. Every now and then you can kind of make out who they are if you know the players. Mine sticks out like a sore thumb. I've gotten more compliments on my autographs from fans, kids and parents than I ever would have imagined.
Old autograph, from the 2008 US Open
New autograph, from the 2012 US Open


You can read Doug's full article here:  Palmer Still Sets Example of Legible Autographs