Friday, January 29, 2016

Playing the Weekend (Again)!

Michael Thompson waits his turn to putt on the 5th hole at the Torrey Pines South Course during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open.
by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson has gotten into the habit of making the cut at PGA Tour events and that's a VERY good thing.  By making the cut at this week's Farmers Insurance Open, Michael has now made the cut in seven of the eight tournaments he's played in this PGA Tour season and he's made all three cuts in 2016.

Michael played the difficult South Course at Torrey Pines really well on Friday and ultimately carded a one under par 71 leaving him three under par and tied for 27th.  Michael played great all day until he had a tough stretch starting with the par 4 14th hole.  His tee shot went left into the rough and his second shot landed out of bounds.  He carded a double bogey and was facing another bogey on hole #15 after his bunker shot came out hot and left him with a 50 foot pitch for par.  He drained the pitch (see the video below) and that clutch and improbable par save provided his round a boost of needed momentum.  He gave himself three consecutive birdie chances on the final three holes and he was able to convert one of them on hole 17.

Michael will be teeing off at 8:40am PT from the first hole with Bud Cauley and Bronson Burgoon.

Video


Michael Thompson chips in for great par save at Farmers 

In the second round of the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open, Michael Thompson holes his 36-foot chip shot to save par on the par-4 15th hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines.

Michael Thompson pours in a 27-footer for birdie at Farmers 

In the second round of the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open, Michael Thompson sinks a 27-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 17th hole on the South Course at Torrey Pines.


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Thursday, January 28, 2016

Thompson Posts Solid -2 at Torrey

Michael Thompson tees off from hole #13 on the North Course at Torrey Pines during round 1 of the Farmers Insurance Open.  January 28, 2016
by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson posted a solid two under par 70 on the North Course at Torrey Pines during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open and is currently tied for 34th.  The scoring average on the North Course was 70.9 so he was a shot under that but he could easily have been four under or even lower.  He had a birdie putt on hole #4 all but fall to the bottom of the cup (see the video below) and he had birdie putts on holes #8 and #9 that just missed.  The birdie put on #9 looked good all the way to the hole and right before it reached the hole it broke hard to the left and just missed.

Michael's round from a stats point of view probably doesn't look great since he missed a lot of fairways early although he wasn't missing the fairways by much.  Even though he wasn't hitting a lot of fairways early in the round, he was hitting a lot of greens.  Towards the end of the round he began hitting fairways more consistently and had birdie opportunities on most of the final 5 holes including really good looks on the final three holes (he made the one on hole #7).

Tomorrow, Michael will be teeing off at 9am PT from the South Course.  The earlier tee time should help with the Poa Annua greens that become very bumpy in the afternoon as they bloom.

Video



Michael's birdie putt on hole #4 makes 180 degree turn rather than falling into the hole like it should have.  Come on ball!

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Wednesday, January 27, 2016

It's Torrey Time!


by Roz Roberts III

It's time for the ThompsonTide guys' favorite PGA Tour stop of the year: the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines!  The PGA Tour, with Michael Thompson in tow, has made its yearly stop in San Diego and we can't wait to watch Michael in person.

The FIO at Torrey Pines takes advantage of both the north and south courses along cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  The north course is fairly short and easy by PGA Tour standards with the south course, the host of the 2008 US Open, is yearly one of the longest and most difficult courses on tour.
Michael gets his tournament under way on the north course teeing off from the tenth hole at 10:10am PT.  He is grouped with George McNeil and Johnson Wagner.

I will be on site an will attempt to provide live updates via Twitter.  Watch the right hand twitter feed window on this page or follow us on Twitter (@ThompsonTide) for updates.

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Friday, January 22, 2016

Another Scorching Start in the Desert

Michael Thompson lines up a putt on the 18th green during the second round of the CareerBuilder Challenge In Partnership With The Clinton Foundation on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West on January 22, 2016 in La Quinta, California.  (Source: Harry How/Getty Images North America)

by Roz Roberts III

Round two of the CareerBuilder Challenge started a lot like round one for Michael Thompson.  He birdied six of his first nine holes and made the turn at five under par.  He birdied the first two holes of the back nine and actually took the solo lead for a little while before his round sort of ran out of steam.  Despite bogeying the final hole, Michael carded a five under par 67 and is -11 after the first two rounds tied for 8th.

Michael will face the final course of the three played at the CareerBuilder Challenge over the next two rounds: the TPC West Stadium Course.  This Pete Dye course is new in the tournament's rotation and is the most challenging of the three courses.  A cut will be made after Saturday's third round and the final round will be played at the Stadium Course.

Michael tees off at 8:30am PT on Saturday.


Video


Michael Thompson interview after Round 2 of CareerBuilder Challenge 

Following a second-round 67, Michael Thompson reflects on his play in the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation with Mark Immelman from PGA TOUR Radio.



Michael Thompson birdies No. 9 at CareerBuilder 

In the second round of the 2016 CareerBuilder Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, Michael Thompson makes his birdie putt from 13 feet on the par-4 9th hole.

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Thursday, January 21, 2016

Excellent First Round Highlighted by Scorching Start


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson got off to a dream start in the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, CA.  He started on the back nine at the the La Quinta Country Club and was four under par after his first four holes.  The start was highlighted by an eagle on the par five 13th hole.

After the hot start, Michael settled into the rest of the round where he sprinkled four birdies and two bogeys across his scorecard and ultimately carded a six under par (66).  He is currently in a tie for 7th.

Tomorrow, Michael will move to the PGA West Tournament Course when he tees off at 9:00am from the first hole.

Video

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Hot Start in the Desert


Michael Thompson got off to a blazing start at the  CareerBuilder Challenge in the Palm Springs, CA desert.  He started his first round, which is currently underway, going birdie-birdie-par-eagle on the La Quinta course.  He has subsequently bogeyed and sits at -3 for the tournament (T12) through six holes.

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Friday, January 15, 2016

Eagle at the Wire Propels Thompson Into the Weekend

Michael Thompson tees off on the 11th hole during the second round of the Sony Open in Hawaii golf tournament at Waialae Country Club. Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
by Roz Roberts III

For the second day in a row at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Michael Thompson managed to finish his round on a high note.  In Thursday's first round he finished with back to back birdies while Friday's second round was even more dramatic.

Michael came to his final hole (hole #9) sitting two shots outside of the cut line.  Luckily for Michael, the ninth hole is a short par five and the easiest hole on the course.  Michael's tee shot was beauty that traveled 337 yards and found the right hand side of the fairway.  It left Michael a manageable 156 yards from the hole.  Michael stuck the approach inside five feet, made the short eagle putt and walked off his final hole knowing he'd be making the cut.  This marks the fifth time out of six events this season that Michael has made the cut.

There will be a secondary cut on Saturday since over 80 players made the cut.

In Saturday's third round Michael will once again be grouped with Ryo Ishikawa and Chad Campbell since they all finished the second round at three under par (T66).  They tee off from the tenth hole at 11:45am local time (1:45pm PT).

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Michael Thompson plays his shot from the first tee during the first round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 14, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii.  (Jan. 13, 2016 - Source: Tom Pennington/Getty Images North America)

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Wrap-Around Schedule Gets Into High Gear in Hawaii


by Roz Roberts III

2016 has arrived, and as usual the PGA Tour begins the calendar year in Hawaii.  Like last year, the wrap around PGA Tour season is already in progress but the new year really marks the start of the heart of the season.  This week Michael Thompson and his fellow PGA Tour professionals will be competing in the Sony Open in Hawaii.  The Sony Open is known for narrow fairways that routinely average in the top five hardest to hit on Tour.  Accuracy off the tee and good putting are rewarded in Honolulu.

Michael tees off his first round on Thursday morning at 11:50am local time (1:50pm PT).  He will be grouped with Chad Campbell and Ryo Ishikawa

Online Links
I'm sorry to say that PGATour.com has discontinued the old ShotTracker website.  I always had a love/hate relationship with the site but it allowed me to follow Michael's entire group each round during a tournament in a way that the new leaderboard doesn't.  It also allowed me to look at Michael's ShotTracker in a much larger view that I preferred.  So going forward you won't be seeing those old ShotTracker links.  RIP ShotTracker.

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