Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Fear the Beard

Michael has been sporting a full beard during his recent tour in Asia.

by Roz Roberts III

We've gotten several comments/questions on Michael sporting a beard during his current tour through Asia and so far we've neglected to comment.  In case you missed it, it is true - Michael has grown out his beard.  I'm not sure this qualifies as breaking news but it has caused at least a mini-stir in Thompson fan base.

During last year's off-season Michael grew out his beard right up until the 2013 season started and then he shaved it off.  He may be following the same schedule this year or he may decide to go Duck Dynasty/Red Sox Nation mode into the foreseeable future.  Either way, we leave the comments to all you Thompson Tiders out there.  Feel free to send us e-mail or comment on Twitter and Facebook.  Just don't expect us to take sides!


Thompson Playing in The Hero Indian Open



Michael's Asian excursion continues this week as he takes part in the Hero Indian Open which is in New Delhi, India. It's an Asian Tour event, and Michael is one of only a small handful of Americans.  In the meantime, the PGA Tour continues it's schedule with the McGladrey Classic.

The Times of India has run a couple of short articles about Michael which you can read here:
Thompson targets top-10 ranking by next year
I'll follow footsteps of Payne Stewart in Indian Open: Thompson

Online Links
Asian Tour website
Hero Indian Open website
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Michael tees off at 10:45 pm PST Wednesday

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Thompson Climbing the Leaderboard in Malaysia

by Roz Roberts III

After posting a three over par opening round, Michael Thompson has slowly been climbing a leaderboard after he has posted consecutively better under par rounds highlighted by Saturday's third round four under par 68 and he is now tied for 33rd at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

In his second round, Michael started off with a bogey and a double bogey in his first two holes which had him at 6 over par for the tournament.  Since then he is a total of 8 under par.  After the slow start in round two, he fought back with four birdies to finish the second round at one under par.  In the third round, Michael carded five birdies and a single bogey.

The final round will be aired on Saturday night on the Golf Channel from 11pm - 3am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Thompson Starts Another PGA Season

by Roz Roberts III

Last year, the PGA Tour decided to restructure their season to help give fall events more significance.  The newly created 2013/2014 season got started earlier this month with events earning precious Fedex Cup Playoff points.  Michael Thompson got his new season underway at this week's CIMB Classic in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.  The CIMB Classic is considered a standard PGA Tour event and receives full Fedex Cup points and all money earned will be counted as official PGA Tour earnings.  Those changes have made this event much more attractive to Tour players and so the field is the strongest ever for this event.

Since Malaysia is on the other side of the dateline, Thursday's first round actually occurred on Wednesday night here in the US.  Michael shot a three over par, 75 and is currently tied for 65th.  He is paired with Boo Weekly and Retief Goosen for the first two rounds.

The Golf Channel is carrying live coverage in the evenings.  Second round coverage will be on Thursday night from 10:30PM to 2:30AM ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Final Round of the Season

Michael Thompson will be playing his final round of the season on Sunday.  He goes into the final round tied for 63rd at the BMW Championship.  He'll be teeing off at 7:42am with Patrick Reed.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Onto the Weekend!


by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson made the cut at the BMW Championship!  Well, actually everyone makes the cut, since the field only consists of 70 players. Nonetheless, it's always good to be playing on a weekend, cut or not.

Michael will be paired with Chris Kirk for the third round and they'll be teeing off at 8:37am. He'll be entering the day tied for 45th at +2.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Thompson to Make First Appearance in BMW Championship


by Randy Roberts

On Thursday, Michael Thompson will be teeing off in his first appearance in the BMW Championship. Reserved for the top 70 players on the FedEx Cup list, he'll be searching for peak performance in order to gain some ground on that list and make it into the top 30 in order to play the final round of the playoffs.

He'll be grouped with Ken Duke and David Hearn and will be teeing off at 11:15am.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Monday, September 2, 2013

Thompson Puts It All Together


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson finally put together a complete round in the Fedex Playoffs shooting a bogey free, five under par,  66 to finish the Deutsche Bank Championship in a tie for 53rd.  Only Justin Spieth had a better fourth round.  The strong finish guarantees Michael a spot in the third round of the Fedex Cup Playoffs - the BMW Championship.  It will be the first time that Michael has made it to the third round in the Playoff series.

Michael currently sits 63rd on the Fedex Cup Points list.  The top 70 golfers will play in the BMW Championship in two weeks.  In order to advance to the final round of the playoffs, the Tour Championship, Michael will need a strong finish at the BMW in order to climb into the top 30.  PGATour.com will likely post the necessary finish for each golfer to advance to the Tour Championship in a couple of days but Michael will most likely need something like a top 15 or better finish to climb into the top 30.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Thompson Makes The Cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship



by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson made his first cut in the 2013 FedEx Cup playoffs! By making the cut, he has given himself a great shot at making it into the next round of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the BMW Championship.

His round started off with a little bit of a roller coaster as he went bogey,birdie, bogey, birdie but then he settled in, scoring 3 more birdies along the way. Those were offset by two bogeys to finish at -1 and T-67.

For Sunday's round 3 he'll be paired with Jason Kokrak and they'll be getting an early start at 7:45 am.

To keep an eye on his FedEx Cup ranking, you can view the Projected FedEx Cup Points List. It will update during the round to show where he would place based on the current standings of the ongoing tournament. In order to get into the BMW championship he'll need to finish in the top 70. As he begins on Sunday, he'll be ranked #69.

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

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Playoff Round Two Gets Started at The Deutsche Bank Championship



by Roz Roberts III

After a tough second round last week at the Barclay's which resulted in a missed cut, Michael Thompson will be looking to rebound at the Deutsche Bank Championship.  Last week's missed cut dropped Michael to 58th on the Fedex Cup points list.  Only the top 70 players on that list will advance to the third round of the playoffs at the BMW Championship in a couple of weeks.

A rebound is not without precedent this year.   The last time Michael finished last of those who completed two rounds to miss a cut (the Northern Trust Open), he followed that performance with his first victory on the PGA Tour at the Honda Classic.

Michael will be playing with Angel Cabrera and Ryan Palmer for the first two rounds.  They tee off FRIDAY  at 7:52am ET from the first hole.

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





Thursday, August 22, 2013

It's Playoff Time!


by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson has made the trek out to Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey to play in the first round of the 2013 FedEx Cup Playoffs, otherwise known as "The Barclays".  The playoff system consists of four weeks of events with ever decreasing fields in order to determine the ultimate FedEx Cup playoff champion.  Here's a quick rundown on the events:

Top 125 - The Barclays
Top 100 - Deutsche Bank Championship
Top 70 - BMW CHampionship
Top 30 - Tour Championship

You can follow the projected FedEx Cup points list at the link below.

2013 Live Projected FedEx Cup Points List

When you look at the list, keep in mind that each event in the playoffs is worth five times that of a normal PGA event, thus players can rocket up the points list with a good performance.

Michael will be grouped with Angel Cabrera and Roberto Castro and will be teeing off at 12:33 ET.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael's ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker
@Live streaming coverage

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Another Top 25 for Thompson Heading Into the Playoffs


by Roz Roberts III

For the second time this year, Michael Thompson posted a top 25 finish at a major championship. Earlier this year he finished tied for 25th at the Masters.  This week he finished in a tie for 22nd after a one under par 69 in the final round of the PGA Championship to finish even for the tournament.

Based on the results this week, he moves up to 36th on the Fedex Cup playoff list.  The playoffs start in two weeks at the Barclays for the top 125 players in Fedex Cup points.

The points requirements to qualify for each of the playoff tournaments are as follows:

Top 125 - The Barclays
Top 100 - Deutsche Bank Championship
Top 70 - BMW CHampionship
Top 30 - Tour Championship

2013 Live Projected FedEx Cup Points List

Each playoff event is worth five times the points of a normal PGA Tournament so even though Michael has a good start on Fedex Points he'll need to play well in the playoffs to continue to advance with the ultimate goal of making it to the Tour Championship which is reserved for the top 30 golfers.

Images of Michael Thompson from Round 3 of the PGA Championship



Michael Thompson tees off on hole #3 during the third round of the PGA Championship.
Michael's tee shot came up about 25 feet short.  This birdie putt missed going in by a few inches and Michael tapped in for par.

Michael's tee shot on hole #6.

Michael's birdie putt on hole #6 just slides by the hole.  He went to make par.

Michael watches his tee shot on 11 closely.


The tee shot just missed the hole and came to rest a mere 18 inches from the hole.
Michael tapped in for birdie.

Michael made this 50 foot putt for birdie on hole #15.

Thompson Hangs Tough at PGA Championship



by Randy Roberts

On a day that saw rising scores, Michael Thompson hung on and finished +2 for the day. That leaves him at +1 going into the final day tied for 28th.

He'll be teeing off at 12:15 ET on Sunday and will be paired with Marcus Fraser.

TV
TNT 11:00-2:00 ET
CBS 2:00-7:00 ET

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Leaderboard (PGA Tour)
Leaderboard (PGA site)
PGA Live Streaming

Friday, August 9, 2013

Thompson Takes Advantage of Softer Greens, Vaults Up Leaderboard



by Randy Roberts and Roz Roberts III

During today’s second round of the PGA Championship, early rain bedeviled the morning round players while it benefited the afternoon wave which Michael Thompson was a part of.  Softer greens allowed for lower scores, and Michael took advantage.

For most of round two, Michael was sitting a single shot inside the cut line.  While a lot of golfers were taking advantage of calm winds and soft greens, Michael was playing a solid, if not remarkable, round of golf.  He completed his first 11 holes at even par posting a lone bogey against a lone birdie on consecutive holes early in his round and then ran off a streak of seven consecutive pars.

That’s when Michael really started firing on all cylinders, making four birdies in a six hole stretch.  He finished -3 for the day (-1 overall) and vaulted 52 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 22nd.

He'll be paired with Paul Casey for round 3 and will be teeing off at 12:45 ET.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Leaderboard (PGA Tour)
Leaderboard (PGA site)
PGA Live Streaming

Thursday, August 8, 2013

First Round at PGA Championship Completed

by Randy Roberts

With the first round of the PGA Championship complete, Michael Thompson sits at +2, T74. Due to the lack of any stats, play by play or Shotlink Data on the PGA website, I can't infer any insight about how todays round went, other than to say he scored 2 birdies, 4 bogeys and 12 pars.

Currently one over the projected cut line he'll be looking to improve upon his score when he tees off at 1pm local time on friday. He'll be grouped again with Marcel Siem, however the third person in his grouping, Bo Van Pelt withdrew from the tournament due to a hip injury.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Leaderboard (PGA Tour)
Leaderboard (PGA site)
PGA Live Streaming

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Thompson Takes On Season's Last Major

by Roz Roberts III

Tomorrow, Michael Thompson will tee off in this season's last major:  the PGA Championship.  This year's PGA will take place at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY.  The Donald Ross designed course is a classic par 70 and will look a lot like a US Open as the rough has been described as "penal".  There has been a lot of talk that a score of par may win.  That remains to be seen but Oak Hill is expected to play tough and that's typically the kind of course and tournament Michael likes.

Michael will be playing the first two rounds with Marcel Siem and Bo Van Pelt.  They get their first round off at 7:50am ET.

There won't be Shot Link coverage this week (since that is a PGA Tour feature) but the PGA website will have live streaming coverage of the par 3 holes starting at 1pm ET.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Leaderboard (PGA Tour)
Leaderboard (PGA site - includes additional features if a player's detail is expanded including play-by-play)
PGA Live Streaming



Monday, August 5, 2013

Thompson Saved His Best for Last

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson saved his best round at the Bridgestone Invitational for last as he shot a bogey-free two under par 68 and finished in a tie for 21st.  This marks Michael's second consecutive top 25 finish in a WGC event.  He moved up to 38th on the Fedex Cup points list and up to 34th on the money list.  He also moved up to 51st on the OWGR list (22nd in the US).

Michael's round was highlighted by some great ball striking.  He hit 10 out of 14 fairways and two of the missed fairways were in the first cut of intermediate rough.  He also hit 12 out of 18 greens in regulation and four of those missed greens were on the fringe.

Despite the great ball striking, Michael was happiest with his putting.  After the round he tweeted "NO 3 PUTTS!"

Next week he'll be in Rochester, New York to compete at the PGA Championship which will be held at the Oak Hill Country Club's East Course.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Thompson Holding His Ground at WGC Bridgestone


by Randy Roberts

Michael held his ground in the third round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Finishing the day at even par, he moved up several spots to finish the day T-36.

He'll be paired with Ernie Els during Sunday's final round, teeing off at 10:55am.

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

*****

If there is any downside to playing in a WGC invitational, it would be that he was unable to attend the Second Annual Michael Thompson Invitational which he sponsors.  It is taking place at Oro Valley Country Club back in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona and is his way of giving back to the Junior Golf Association of Arizona, which is something he participated in as a youth. Good luck to all the Thompson Invitational competitors!

Leaderboard for Michael Thompson Invitational

Thompson 'Played Really Well Today'


by Roz Roberts III

By his own account, Michael Thompson "played really well today" where he shot a one over par 71 and is currently tied for 43rd after the first two rounds of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. The stats would seem to back up Michael's assessment. He hit 14 out of 18 greens in regulation and his driving distance was much higher than normal at 314.5 yards. The lone hole in his game today was his putting where he was -2.654 in strokes gained putting.

After his round, Michael assessed his day on Twitter: "I played really well today just couldn't get the putts to fall."

Tomorrow's third round has been pushed back a bit to avoid some expected morning thunderstorms Michael will be paired with Boo Weekly and Nick Watney for the third round. The group will tee off from the tenth hole at 11:30am ET.

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

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Streaky First Round for Thompson

Michael Thompson sinks a birdie putt on hole #2 during the first round of the Bridestone Invitational
by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's first round at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational was highlighted by three different streaks.  The first streak came at the early in his round when he bogeyed three out of four holes to put himself in a three over par hole.  However, just three holes after that he birdied three out four holes and found himself back to even par.  Unfortunately, after his birdie streak, his tee shot on hole #3 went left and resulted in a double bogey.  After that hole, his round entered its last streak when he parred the remaining seven holes.  At the end of the day, his two over par 72 has him tied for 41st.

Michael will once again be paired with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.  They will tee of at 12:40pm ET.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Live @ Coverage

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

WGC Bridgestone Invitational

by Roz Roberts III

One of the perks of Michael Thompson's victory earlier this year at the Honda Classic was entry in the remaining World Golf Championship events this season.  He finished tied for eighth at the first of those events, the Cadillac Championship.  Tomorrow he will compete in his second WGC event - the Bridgestone Invitational being held at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.  These events are limited field events without a cut so every player is guaranteed to play all four rounds.

Michael will be paired with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano from Spain for the first two rounds.  They will tee of at 8:50am ET for tomorrow's first round.

In addition to the regular Golf Channel coverage from 2pm-6pm ET, PGATour.com will feature Live @ streaming of holes #2 and #15 will be on air from 9am - 6pm ET.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Live @ Coverage




Additional Video on Israel Trip

by Roz Roberts III

If you missed In Play with Jimmy Roberts last night, fear not!  Here is the feature on Michael's trip in full along with some additional clips.  Enjoy!



Hear from PGA golfers Hunter Mahan and Michael Thompson, along with instructor Sean Foley from their golf clinic for Peace Players International in Israel.



Tim Rosaforte sits down behind the scenes and talks about the Israel trip's impact on Hunter Mahan, Michael Thompson and Sean Foley.




Here is the whole feature on the trip:

With only one golf course in the entire country, Israel is not the first destination viewers would expect to find Hunter Mahan, Amy Alcott and Michael Thompson. But all attended a pilgrimage there to support a growing youth support system bringing Palestinian and Israeli kids together through sport. Joined by coach Sean Foley, the golfers couldn’t know that what started as a youth clinic and an incredible excursion throughout Israel would become center of world events in an all-too-familiar story - Middle East hostilities.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Israel Trip to be Discussed on In Play With Jimmy Roberts

Michael Thompson and Hunter Mahan at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem (Photo: Adam Schupak, Golfweek)
by Roz Roberts III


Tonight's episode of In Play with Jimmy Roberts on the Golf Channel will have a story on the trip Michael Thompson and his wife Rachel took to Israel last year during their off-season.  You may remember that they traveled with a group of professional athletes including Hunter Mahan, Sean Foley, and Amy Alcott to help promote golf in a country with only one golf course and dialog between Israeli and Palestinian children.  Unfortunately, rocket attacks cut the trip short.

In Play will air at 10:30pm ET on the Golf Channel.

http://www.golfchannel.com/media/in-play-with-jimmy-roberts-tuesday-july-30-1030pm-071613/

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Thompson Hangs Tough at Muirfield

Michael Thompson drives from the 3rd hole during the first round of the 142nd Open. 
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images Europe.


by Roz Roberts III

Despite hitting a field low of only 7 greens in regulation, Michael Thompson scrambled and putted his way to a one over par 72 during the first round of the Open Championship and he is currently tied for 27th.  The conditions at Muirfield can only be described as extreme.  Long rough, hard baked surfaces and winds that picked up throughout the day provided a tough test especially for the afternoon wave of golfers.

Michael managed four birdies, including birdies at two of three par 5 holes.  He had 9 one putts which was just one behind the leaders in the stat, Zach Johnson, Angel Cabrera and Tiger Woods.

Michael will once again be paired with Richie Ramsay and Padraig Harrington.  They tee off for the second round at 8:00am BST.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Profile Page from the Open Championship
Live Video (including holes 7, 8, and 9)

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

More Scottish Golf at the Open Championship

by Roz Roberts III

It was a year ago that Michael Thompson got into his first Open Championship as the last alternate to make the field.  He missed the cut but gained some valuable experience.  This year, Michael knew he was in the field based on his OWGR ranking for several months and was able to schedule his trip to Scotland ahead of time.  He scheduled two tournaments in Scotland including last week's Scottish Open and this week's Open Championship at Muirfield.

Michael will be paired with Richie Ramsay from Scotland who he played with at the Scottish Open and previous winner of the Open Padraig Harrington from Northern Ireland.  The group tees off on Thursday at 1:01PM Scottish time.  That equates to 8:01am ET and 5:01am for those of you on the West Coast.

ESPN will carry live coverage of the first round from 7:00am to 3:00pm ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Profile Page from the Open Championship

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Scottish Open Provides Open Championship Tune Up

Castle Stuart Golf Links
by Roz Roberts III

In what should prove a good links-style tune-up for next week's Open Championship at Muirfield, Michael Thompson will be competing in this week's Scottish Open at the Castle Stuart Golf Links in Inverness, Scotland.  He will be one of only four American's competing in the event.  He qualified for the European Tour event through his top 50 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

All four rounds of the Scottish Open will be televised on the Golf Channel while NBC will be covering the weekend.

Michael will be paired with Felipe Aguilar and Richie Ramsay for the first couple of rounds.  The group tees off at 1:05pm local time (8:05am ET).


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's European Tour Profile


Monday, June 24, 2013

Shhh! MichaelThompsonGolf.com is Online!

The home page from MichaelThompsonGolf.com

by Roz Roberts III

So I may be letting the cat out of the bag early, and if I am I apologize to the folks at GolfPigeon, but Michael Thompson's official website (michaelthompsongolf.com) is now serving live web pages!  A screen capture of the home page is shown above.  The site is run by GolfPigeon.com and has been in the works for a while.  My guess is that they haven't had their official launch yet since I haven't seen a Tweet or other announcement from either Michael or Golf Pigeon.

We encourage you to frequently visit both MichaelThompsonGolf.com AND ThompsonTide.com.

Thompson Tide will continue on as a "fan site" providing online resources for following Michael's career on a per tournament basis and articles from our own personal points of view while MichaelThompsonGolf.com will provide "official" Michael Thompson news.


Friday, June 21, 2013

Thompson Will Be Looking for a Friday Rally

Michael Thompson looks over a birdie putt on hole #15 during the first round of the Traveler's Championship
by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's putter was downright cold during the first round of the Traveler's Championship.  A strokes gained putting stat line of more than four shots lost to the field and a triple bogey resulted in a three over par 73 which left Michael in a tie for 122nd.  The cut will be somewhere around par so Michael will be looking to put together a round in the 60's to make it to the weekend.

Michael will once again be playing with Ian Poulter and Brian Gay.  The group will tee off from the first hole at 7:49am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Live@Streaming of holes 15 and 16

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Thompson Returns to the Traveler's



by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson returns to one of his favorite tournaments of the year, The Travelers Championship.  The Travelers has been a special tournament for him ever since he was given a sponsor's exemption in 2008 to play as an amateur. In 2011, he placed 4th after finishing with a 62, which was the low round of the day.  He'll no doubt be looking to build off that positive energy as he moves foward after a narrowly missed cut at the US Open.

He'll be playing with Ian Poulter and Brian Gay, teeing off at 12:50pm.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Live@Streaming of holes 15 and 16

Friday, June 14, 2013

Merion Shows Its Teeth

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's Friday at the US Open started off great but as the wind picked up, the East Course at Merion Golf Course chewed up and spit out many of the world's best golfers.  Unfortunately, Michael was in that group.

The day started well when Michael finished the last 9 holes of his first round at just 1 over par.  At the time he was solidly inside the top 20.  After a brief delay, Michael started his second round and after a chip in birdie on hole #3 he had reached even par and was tied for 7th.  From that point on however, Michael's round was a struggle.  He went four over par over the next three holes.  As the round continued he was unable to find any more birdies and he recorded five more bogeys including bogeys at the final three holes.  Michael had difficulty finding greens in regulation where he hit just 17 of 36.  Michael is 9 over for the tournament which has him tied for 87th.

Similar to yesterday, the afternoon golfers were unable to finish their second rounds so the cut is not finalized but it is projected to fall at +8.

Michael was not alone in posting a high score this morning.  Other top notch golfers had similar experiences.  Players like Jim Furyk, Graeme McDowell, Keegam Bradley, and Zach Johnson will also miss the cut.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

US Open Gets Underway in Fits and Starts


by Roz Roberts III

Bad weather in the Pennsylvania area caused two weather delays during the first round of the US Open at the Merion Golf Club and as a result, half the field will need to finish their rounds tomorrow morning.  Michael Thompson is among those that are still in the middle of their first rounds.  Michael is currently even par after his first 9 holes and he is sitting over a 2 1/2 foot par putt on the par 5 second hole.  Even par has Michael sitting in a tie for 16th.

The first round will continue tomorrow morning at 7:15am ET.  Michael's second round is scheduled to start at 10:29am ET barring additional weather delays.  The forecast for tomorrow calls for higher winds and more rain showers although the rain storms aren't expected to be as severe as today.   The longer term forecast looks better for the weekend.

Online Links
USGA Leaderboard (fastest updates)
PGA Tour Leaderboard
Michael's Stat Page

TV Times
Friday: 8:30 a.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)
            3 p.m. ET - 5 p.m. ET (NBC)
            5 p.m. ET - 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Saturday: Noon ET- 7 p.m. ET (NBC)

Sunday: Noon ET - 7 p.m. ET (NBC)

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

2013 US Open



by Randy Roberts

Weather permitting, Michael is set to tee off at the US Open on thursday.  Rain is expected to fall on the already soggy East Course at Merion Country Club outside of Philadelphia.  If all goes as expected he'll be teeing off at 1:29 ET with Casey Wittenberg and Michael Weaver.  One of the many clever groupings by the USGA, all three of them were US Amateur runner-ups.

Leaderboard

TV Times
Thursday: 9 a.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET (ESPN); 
                3 p.m. ET - 5 p.m. ET (NBC); 
                5 p.m. ET - 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Friday: 8:30 a.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)
            3 p.m. ET - 5 p.m. ET (NBC)
            5 p.m. ET - 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Saturday: Noon ET- 7 p.m. ET (NBC)

Sunday: Noon ET - 7 p.m. ET (NBC)

For all the latest news related to the US Open make sure to check out their website at

There is also an app for iPhone/iPad that you can download to follow the action.




Tuesday, June 4, 2013

When the Going Gets Tough.......... Michael Thompson Gets Going

Michael Thompson tees off from the 18th hole during the 2012 US Open.  Copyright USGA/Michael Cohen.
by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson has always said he loves golf courses that play hard.  He loves playing in the US Open which has traditionally been considered the most difficult test of golf.  He likes it when par is considered a good score.  The term "Michael Thompson Golf" has been thrown around and basically means playing to get on the green as fast as possible, making a few putts for birdie when the opportunities arise, embracing challenges, and always trying to have fun while you're doing it.

Michael finished T2 at the US Open last year and he finished as the low amateur at the 2008 US Open which definitely shows that Michael not only enjoys difficult courses but he plays well on them.  To underscore the fact, I ran across an interesting stat the other day that pretty much proves the point.

The stat I ran across was this:  the three hardest scoring tournaments on the PGA Tour this year were:

Rank
Tournament
Venue
Average
Strokes Over Par
1
The Masters
Augusta National
73.412
+1.412
2
The Honda Classic
PGA National
71.318
+1.318
3
Memorial Tournament
Muirfield Village
73.256
+1.256

In these three tournaments, Michael finished T25, 1st, and T8th (in that order).  Those are obviously some pretty good results but how good?  I went through all the players who played in all three and came up with the following average finish results:

Player
Average Finish
Michael Thompson
11.33
Justin Rose
12.33
Charl Scwartzel
14.00
Tiger Woods
35.33
Lee Westwood
45.00
Branden Grace
64.33
Rory McIlroy
74.33

There were several players who probably would have been high on this list but they didn't compete in one of the events (for example, Adam Scott and Matt Kuchar didn't play at the Honda Classic).

So what's the point of all of this?

Just this, Michael not only likes hard courses but he thrives on them.  Bring on those difficult conditions at Merion!!!

Monday, June 3, 2013

Good Weekend For University of Alabama Golfers

by Randy Roberts

Michael finished strong at the Memorial Tournament completing the final round with 4 birdies offset by one bogey.  His final round score of -3 left him at -4 overall, vaulting him twelve spots up the leaderboard into a five way tie for 8th.  

With a paycheck of just over $167,000 his 2013 earnings have now surpassed last year's total, officially making 2013 his best year on the PGA Tour.  He moved up to 45th on the OWGR list, 22nd on the PGA Tour money list and 23rd on the FedEx Cup list.

Michael's performance on the golf course was not the only great one by an Alabama player this weekend. During his round, the University of Alabama men's golf team was playing in the National Championship.  His wife Rachel (@rvthompson2) tweeted the following
Michael just teed off @MemorialGolf but glued to my phone following NCAA men's golf action. Keeping @MSlickThompson updated! @AlabamaMGolf  
When it was all said and done, Alabama came away with their first national championship in golf.
Shoulda seen @MSlickThompson when I told him @AlabamaMGolf won!! Huge smile, loud shout & DOUBLE walking fist pump! @jcwellbamagolf
photo via @AlabamMGolf on twitter

Congrats to Coach Seawell, the players and everyone else involved with the Alabama golf program. Well earned!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Thompson Overcomes the Weather at the Memorial

by Roz Roberts III

The Memorial Tournament has been a test of patience during difficult weather conditions that have included high winds, rain, and weather delays.  Friday's second round experienced a couple of delays because of dangerous thunderstorms rolling through Dublin, Ohio and was eventually postponed while over 40 golfers had not finished their rounds.  Michael Thompson was one of those that had to come to the course earlier this morning to finish their second rounds.

Michael finished his second round this morning with three pars but he struggled through the late afternoon storms on Friday and he posted a four over par 74.  His strong first round on Thursday was more than enough to get him inside the cut line and Michael must have learned from Friday's conditions because even though the difficult conditions were still the same on Saturday, Michael was able to post a two under par 70 during the third round and he is now tied for 20th.  He moved up 23 spots on the leaderboard.

The weather forced the PGA to start Saturday's third round early and group players into threesomes while the utilized both the first and tenth tees to try and get the round in before more thunderstorms rolled through.  This meant that all of the TV and streaming coverage was "tape delayed".  They will utilize the same strategy for Sunday's third round when more severe weather is expected in the afternoon.

Despite the difficult conditions that included greens running at 14+ on the Stimpmeter which might be the highest all year (including the majors), swirling winds gusting up to 35mph, and hole locations at the edge of small greens, Michael managed to make par or better on 17 of 18 holes during the third round.  His lone blemish on the scorecard came when his tee shot found the water on the most difficult hole on the course - the par 3 16th which averaged more than a half shot over par and was the most difficult hole on the PGA Tour in 2012.  He double bogeyed #16 but managed to make 4 birdies on the day and had several other birdie opportunities that just didn't fall.

Michael's most unlikely birdie came on his last hole of the day, #9, when he chipped in for birdie from the rough 19 yards from the hole.  The shot was an extremely difficult one as it was back towards the water and down a sharp slope.  To give you an idea of the difficulty of the shot, Michael's two playing partners both bogeyed the hole with three putts coming from the same general direction as Michael's chip after their putts rolled down the hill significantly past the hole.

Michael will be playing the fourth round with Bo Van Pelt and Fred Couples.  They tee off from the first hole at 11:40am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael's ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker
Live Video Streaming

Friday, May 31, 2013

First Round in the Books at The Memorial



by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson got off to a great start in the first round of the Memorial Tournament.   He had an eagle hole out from 9 yards out, as well as five birdies to offset four bogeys. He finished at -3, and is currently tied for ninth.

He'll be teeing off at 12:54 ET with K.J. Choi and Mike Weir.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael's ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker
Live Video Streaming (holes 12 and 16)