Saturday, December 9, 2017

Michael's 2017/2018 PGA Tour Status

Determining Michael's 2017/2108 PGA Tour status
by Roz Roberts III

I've been asked by multiple people over the last six months what Michael's status is for the PGA Tour during the 2017/2018 season.  I'm not an expert on the ins and outs of PGA Tour status by any means (I think you need a PGA Tour PhD to fully understand it all) but here's my current understanding of the situation.

Due to Michael's shoulder injury in June of last year, he was given a 6 event medical extension in the current 2017/2018 season.   I believe the 6 events represent the number of events Michael would have qualified for in the 2016/2017 season if he had not been hurt.  Essentially, Michael is given six events this year to "complete" last year.  If he can earn enough FedexCup points in these events such that his FedexCup point total of the new events, combined with his points he had last year at the point he was hurt, are more than the 125th player on the FedexCup Points List last year then he earns a fully exempt card for 2017/2018.

From his six medical starts, Michael has already used two starts and he earned 49.7 FedexCup points.  He has four more events to earn 37.235 points.  His priority into events is currently based on the reshuffle list where  he is currently 23rd.  If he can make it past the 37.235 point barrier in four events then he will earn his fully exempt card for this year which will give him priority above the reshuffle list.

If Michael fails to earn the needed points in his next four starts he will still have status on tour because he finished 149th on the FedexCup points list last year.

Players who finish 126-150 are granted status in the following year although their priority for entering events is AFTER the players the in the reshuffle list so they are limited for which events they can enter.  They are also granted full Web.com Tour Status.

Here are some useful web pages that I use to track all of this:

Medical List
Reshuffle List
2017/2018 Priority Ranking

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Looking Comfortable At Home


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson has been looking like he enjoys his home courses at this week's RSM Classic in Sea Island, Georgia.  He has posted three consecutive rounds in the 60's (68, 68, 67) and is currently tied for 13th at 9 under par for the tournament.

Michael's third round was highlighted by his driving accuracy after hit every fairway off the tee (14/14).  He carded a three under par round after making birdies on three of his final four holes.  His round was only marred by a single bogey.

For Sunday's final round, Michael will be playing with Johnson Wagner and William McGirt.  They tee off from the first hole at 10:30am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

It's a Home Game This Week


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be competing this week near his home in Sea Island, Georgia at the RSM Classic.  The tournament will be held on both the Seaside and Plantation courses at the Sea Island Resort.  Each of the courses will be played once and then the tournament will utilize the Seaside Course exclusively for the weekend.  Both courses are about the same length although the Plantation Course is a par 72 while Seaside is a par 70.  This is the last regular PGA Tour event for 2017.


Michael tees off at 10:40am EST and is grouped with Morgan Hoffman and Sung Kang.  The group tees off from the 10th hole on the Plantation Course.


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard


Saturday, November 4, 2017

Thompson Will Be Playing the Weekend in Vegas

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson followed up his first round 69 with a second round 70 (one under par) and is now tied for 13th heading into the weekend at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.  Michael continued his trend of hitting greens in regulation and is 33 out of 36 for the tournament which ranks #1 in the field.  Michael's second round was marred by a couple of double bogeys but he still outpaced the field average on Friday due to his consistent play in blustery conditions.

The full field has not completed the second round yet so tee times for the third round are currently unavailable.

Inspired by Michael's great playing, I jumped on a plane to Vegas this afternoon and will be out cheering him on in person.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Thompson Perfect in GIR in Debut from Injury

by Roz Roberts III

It's been a while since Michael Thompson played a competitive round on the PGA Tour and he lit up the greens in his return.  In fact, he hit every single green in regulation at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.   That's 18 for 18 if your counting.   He carded a two under par 69 and he is currently tied for 29th with a few golfers still needing to finish round one. 

Any rust from the layoff might have showed up on the greens where Michel uncharacteristically 3 putted three times including his only two bogeys which came fairly early in his round.

Michael and his group are scheduled to tee of at 7:15am PT tomorrow.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Thompson Returns in Vegas

by Roz Roberts III

After rehabing his shoulder for the last several months, Michael Thompson is ready to get back to work.  This week's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas will be Michael's first tournament since injuring himself at The National back in June.

Michael will tee off in round 1 at 12:05pm PT and will be grouped with Troy Merritt and Richy Werenski.

Rob Bolton had the following tidbit in this week's Fantasy Insider article on PGATour.com:
He (Michael) has six starts on a Minor Medical Extension to earn 86.935 FedExCup points and a promotion to the Major Medical category. He's already secured conditional status, so he doesn't have to ration those starts
Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Monday, September 25, 2017

2017 Thompson Invitational is in the Books

(left to right) Michael Thompson, PGA | Toni St. John | Kendal Todd | Alexandra Quihuis

(left to right) Michael Thompson, PGA | Mahanth Chirravuri | Jacob Goode | Caden Christopherson

This past weekend at the Oro Valley Country Club in Tucson, AZ, Michael Thompson hosted the annual Thompson Invitational junior golf tournament.  The yearly event invites the best junior golfers from Arizona.  On Saturday night, Michael hosts a dinner for all of the participants.

This year's girls winner was 15 year old Toni St. John from Gilbert, AZ while the boys winner was 13 year old Mahanth Chirravuri from Chandler, AZ.  Congratulations to them both!

JGAA(Junior Golf Association of Arizona) Links
Mahanth Chirravuri and Toni St John Post Wins at The Thompson Invitational at Oro Valley Country Club
Thompson Invitational Final Results (Girls)
Thompson Invitational Final Results (Boys)

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Thompson Back In Action - Updated 8/31/2017

Embed from Getty Images by Roz Roberts III

Update:  Michael did not tee off with his assigned group although he's not listed as an official WD.  It remains to be seen if Michael will be able to compete in any of the upcoming Web.com Tour Finals events.

We look forward to cheering him on once he's fully recovered from his shoulder injury and 100% ready to play (whenever that is)!
------------------------
According to Rob Bolton on PGATour.com, Michael Thompson has recovered enough from his shoulder injury to compete in this week's Web.com Tour Finals.  The first event in the finals series is the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship which is held in Columbus, Ohio.

Michael tees off with Alex Cjeka and Austin Cook at 12:52pm ET from the first hole.

As you might recall, the Web.com Tour Finals are comprised of four events.  The top 25 combined money earners in these events earn PGA Tour cards for next year.

Here is the complete excerpt from Rob's Fantasy Insider article:


Returning to Competition
Michael Thompson … Sidelined the last two months with a shoulder injury. He's slated to return at the Web.com Tour Finals this week. Even if he doesn't snag one of the 25 PGA TOUR cards up for grabs, he'd open the 2017-18 season with conditional status for finishing 148th in FedExCup points. It might be tagged with a medical extension, too.

Online Links

Sunday, July 16, 2017

And the Top Men's Golfer from Tucson is...


by Roz Roberts III

If you're reading this then your answer would probably be the same as ours.  No questions asked it's Michael Thompson...right?  Well Greg Hanson from the Arizona Star agrees.  He wrote an article on July 13th documenting his list of the top men's golfers from Tucson and Michael was his #1.   Way to go Greg!

You can read the article by clicking on the picture above.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Thompson Golfing in Hartford

Michael Thompson takes a whack at the miniature golf course at the Travelers Championship.

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be playing the Travelers Championship this week in Hartford, Connecticut but before Thursday's first round, he got some putting practice in the Travelers Celebrity Mini Golf tournament.  Putting has certainly been the strength of Michael's game this year as he still ranks 2nd on Tour in the strokes gained putting stat.  Michael has made the cut in his last two tournaments and will look to extend that streak this week.

Michael tees off from the first hole at 12:20pm ET with playing partners Will MacKenzie and Spencer Levin.

Online Links
Article on Mini Golf (with video)
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard


Saturday, April 29, 2017

Teaming Up in NOLA

by Roz Roberts III

This year's Zurich Classic of New Orleans is trying a new team format this year and Michael Thompson, alongside teammate Tim Wilkinson from New Zealand, have been having success as a duo.  After making the cut on the number (-7), the teammates used Saturday's alternate shot round to make a serious move up the leaderboard after posting a fantastic four under par (68) in blustery conditions.  They moved up 24 spots and are now tied for 8th heading into Sunday's final round.

The final round will be played using a better ball format in which each player plays his own ball like regular stroke play with the better score on each hole being carded for the team.  The weather for tomorrow's round is expected to be bad so play has been moved up to try and get the entire round completed on Sunday.

Michael and Wilkinson will be teeing off at 7:40am CT from the first tee.  They will be playing with the team of Angel Cabrera and Julian Etulain.

Online Links
Leaderboard

Friday, April 21, 2017

Another Two Under In Texas


by Roz Roberts III

For the second day in a row at the Valero Texas Open, Michael Thompson posted a two under par 70 and has climbed into a tie for 17th.   His putter heated up on Friday as he sank three putts beyond 14 feet and ended the day with +1.883 strokes gained putting.

Michael limited his mistakes on Friday as he only had two bogeys.  He also continued his positive trend of producing bounce back birdies as he birdied the par five 14th hole after bogeying the par three 13th hole.  For the tournament, Michael has produced a birdie after 50% of his bogeys (3 out of 6).

Michael tees off on Saturday at 10:40am CT (11:40am ET)

Online Link
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Thompson Finishes Birdie-Birdie in San Antonio


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson finished his first round at the Valero Texas Open strong with back to back birdies.  He finished the round at two under par (70) and is tied for 33th going into Friday's second round.  Michael's day was anything but boring as he carded six birdies but he also had four bogeys on the day.

On a positive note, after two of his bogeys he immediately followed up with a bounce back birdie.  Michael also managed to put up some distance with his driver where he averaged 318.6 yards on the day which was second for the tournament.


Video

Michael Thompson's long-range birdie effort at Valero In the opening round of the 2017 Valero Texas Open, 

Michael Thompson drains his 24-foot birdie putt on the par-4 10th hole.





Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Monday, April 3, 2017

Thompson Goes Bogey Free - Again!

Michael Thompson lines up a putt on the second hole during the second round of the Shell Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston on March 31, 2017 in Humble, Texas. (Source: Stacy Revere/Getty Images North America)
by Roz Roberts III

For the second time in two days, Michael Thompson posted a bogey free round at the Shell Houston Open and rode the great round to a tie for 12th finish.  Michael shot a four under par 68 in round four and finished the tournament at eight under par.  It was Michael's second consecutive top 15 finish.  He was also the only player in the tournament to go bogey free on the weekend where he finished his final 37 holes without a bogey.

Michael was over +10 in strokes gained putting and finished the tournament in second for that stat behind only the eventual winner Russell Henley.  Michael is now second in strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour for the year.

Michael now has five top 20 finishes on tour for the year.  He used this finish to move up to seventh on the reshuffle list and he is now 82nd on the FedexCup points list.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Thompson Goes Bogey Free in Round Three

Michael Thompson plays a shot from the fairway on the 18th hole during the first round of the Shell Houston Open at the Golf Club of Houston on March 30, 2017 in Humble, Texas.(Source: Josh Hedges/Getty Images North America)

by Roz Roberts III

After making the cut by a shot at the Shell Houston Open, Michael Thompson posted a bogey free round of three under par (69) in Saturday's third round.  He climbed 34 spots up the leaderboard and is now tied for 21st at four under par for the tournament.  Michael's tournament has been characterized by fantastic putting where he is +8.944 in strokes gained putting for the tournament which ranks third in the field.

Michael will tee off at 8:55am ET with Robert Garrigus and John Rahm for Sunday's final round from the first tee.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Puerto Rico Open Starts Thursday



This week's PGA event will be played opposite the WGC match play event so the field at the Puerto Rico Open will be missing the top players in the world.  Michael Thompson, and lots of the other PGA Tour players sitting outside the top 64 in OWGR, will be competing to put up a top finish and grab some momentum as the PGA Tour will head into the meat of the season next week at the Shell Houston Open.

Michael  tees off at at 11:40am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

The Snake Pit is Waiting


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will take on the "Snake Pit" tomorrow at the Valspar Championship.  The final three holes on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Golf Resort present a challenging set of closing holes and have earned their ominous nickname.  Michael should be rested and ready after a week off.

He tees off at 8:29am ET with Sean O'Hair and Morgan Hoffman from the first hole.  Weather conditions on Thursday aren't expected to be a factor.


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Friday, February 10, 2017

Weather Delays at Pebble

by Roz Roberts III

This week finds Michael Thompson playing golf on the picturesque Monterrey Bay peninsula.  However, the beautiful scenery has been obscured by the weather through the first two fays of the tournament.  Round one was cut short by rain while today's second round was halted due to fog.

Michael shot one over par on Thursday at Pebble Beach and he was one under par through 12 holes before his second round was halted at Monterrey Peninsula Country Club this afternoon, .  He is currently even par and tied for 55th.  He will be playing Spyglass Hill tomorrow after he finishes up at MPCC.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Thompson Saves His Best for Last

Michael Thompson plays his shot from the fifth tee during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Source: Donald Miralle/Getty Images North America)

by Roz Roberts III

After three great rounds of one under par, Michael Thompson put together his best round of the 2017 Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday.  He shot a four under par 68 and finished the tournament at seven under par (T14th).   It was Michael's third top 20 finish of the year.

Sunday's round was nearly flawless.  Michael only bogeyed one hole while he birdied five.  He was putting great all day as he was making long birdie putts and making crucial par saves.  Michael finished the tournament tied for third in fewest bogeys (only 7 for the week) and he didn't card a single double bogey or worse.  He also finished the tournament sixth in strokes gained putting and tied for 8th in driving accuracy.

I only saw 11 holes yesterday but between yesterday's round and today's I witnessed Michael card a single bogey over 29 holes and go seven under par over that stretch.  He made the hardest par 72 course on Tour look easy.  I think this might have been the most consistent four consecutive rounds I've ever seen him play live.  It bodes well for the rest of this 2016-2017 season.

Other Photos from Round 4

Michael Thompson plays his shot on the fourth green during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Source: Donald Miralle/Getty Images North America)
Michael Thompson plays his shot on the fourth green during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Source:my phone)
Michael Thompson plays his shot from the second green during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Source:My phone)

Michael Thompson plays his shot from the fourth tee during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Source:My phone)

Michael Thompson plays his shot from the fifth tee during the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Source:My phone)

Saturday, January 28, 2017

One Under - Again

Michael Thompson gets ready to putt for birdie on hole #13 on the South Course at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open.

by Roz Roberts III

For the third straight day at the Farmers Insurance Open, Michael Thompson carded a one under par 71.  He is currently three under par and tied for 34th.  Michael's day was full of highlights including two long putts he sank on consecutive holes.  He birdied hole #8 from over 46 feet and followed that up with a 38 foot par save on hole #9.

We didn't catch up with Michael's group until the 8th hole.  From that point of the round on he was bogey free and shot three under par.  He had a rough stretch early where he bogeyed three out of four holes but from the point we caught his round he was fantastic.  Besides the birdie bomb on hole #8, the most memorable hole of the day for me was the birdie he made on the most difficult hole on the course:  the 504 yard par four 12th hole.    He split the fairway with a 295 yard drive and he landed his 200 yard approach within four feet.  He paid off those two shots by making the short birdie putt.

Michael will tee off in Sunday's fourth round at 8:25am with Emiliano Grillo and Sebastian Munoz.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Friday, January 27, 2017

Another Solid Round in San Diego

Michael Thompson tees off from the 8th hole at the North Course at Torrey Pines
by Roz Roberts III

For the second day in a row, Michael Thompson  shot one under par (71) from at the Farmers Insurance Open.  He is now two under par for the tournament which has him tied for 35th.  His second round was once again characterized by great driving and solid all around play.  He missed a few birdie putts coming down the stretch but that was not uncommon as the greens once again were living up to there unpredictable reputation.  Round two played harder than round one because the wind was blowing throughout the day.

Michael will tee off bright and early on Saturday for round three.  He tees off from the first hole at 7:40am PT.  He will be playing with Beau Hossler and Kevin Tway.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

More Photos From Round Two







Thursday, January 26, 2017

Torrey South Is An Exercise in Patience



Michael's office was pretty spectacular today.  Torrey Pines South Course hole #4.


by Roz Roberts III

The South Course at Torrey Pines is a beast.  There's no two ways about it.  It's long.  Really long.  And to make things even worse, today's soft conditions didn't provide any roll on the fairways which made it play even longer.

Michael Thompson and his group played in one of the last groups off the first tee and they played through the windiest part of the day and had to deal with bumpy, crusty greens.  Despite all of the difficulties Michael managed to shoot one under par and played great all day.  

To put Michael's round into perspective, he scored better than all three off the players in the group in front of him:  Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and Tiger Woods.  Everyone was missing short putts as the greens were rolling so erratically and the ball was bouncing and veering all over the place.  The difficulties meant that you had to stay patient and just roll with the punches.

Tomorrow's round is expected to play even tougher as the wind will be gusting up to 40mph.  Michael and his playing partners Jon Curran and Morgan Hoffman will be playing the North Course tomorrow at 9:40am PT.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard


Pictures From Round One

Michael Thompson drains his birdie putt on hole #6 on the South Course at Torrey Pines.

Michael Thompson signs autographs after round one at the Farmers Insurance Open.



Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Torrey Awaits

by Roz Roberts III

After a soggy week in Palm Desert, the sun will be shining this week on Michael Thompson and the rest of the PGA Tour as they compete in the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.  The weather should provide beautiful vistas of the California coast with plenty of sunshine.  The only weather concern will come on Friday when it is expected to be windy.

The Farmers will utilize both the North and South courses at Torrey Pines.  The South course is the more difficult of the two courses although recent changes on the North course have lengthened it.  The South course wass the highest scoring par 72 course on Tour last year.  It's narrow fairways, length, and long rough always provide a difficult test.

Michael will tee off at 10:50am PT from the first hole of the South course on Thursday.   He will be playing with Morgan Hoffman and Jon Curran.  They tee off intermediately after the featured group of Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, and Tiger Woods.

It should be an interesting exercise in patience as I follow Michael and his group while trying to navigate the crowds.  I will try to provide some live Tweets from the course.  The South course will have ShotLink coverage so you should be able to follow the leaderboard too.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

West Coast Swing Starts in Sunny(?) California

Michael Thompson plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 13, 2017 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Source: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images North America)

by Roz Roberts III


The PGA Tour has moved on from Hawaii and will start the West Coast Swing this week near Palm Springs, California at the CareerBuilder Challenge.  Typically, the Tour can expect mild weather and clear skies at the CareerBuilder but this week will be anything but.  Southern California will be experiencing a multi day storm which should arrive tomorrow.  Conditions should be wet.  Californians all know we could use the rain but typically golf tournaments and rain don't mix well.  The CareerBuilder is also a Pro-Am which results in longer rounds by its very nature.  Once you add some rain into the mix, rounds could last a while.

The CareerBuilder will be held across three Palm Desert courses but ShotLink data will only be available from the PGA West Stadium Course so following Michael on the La Quinta and Niclaus Tournament courses will be an exercise in patience.

Barring any weather delays, Michael gets his first round started on Thursday from the tenth hole at the La Quinta course at 9:30am PT.  He will be in a foursome with Scott Brown and two amateurs.  Hopefully any delays will be kept to a minimum.


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Bogey Free Round Ends with a Bang!

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson had a beautiful first round at the Sony Open today.  Not only did he go bogey-free for the day, but he carded an eagle on his final hole of the day to finish with a 5 under par (65). He also finished the day tied for 12th.

Michael didn't hit as many fairways as he would have liked (7/14) but he managed to recover time and again and hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation which kept him out of trouble and presented plenty of scoring opportunities.

Michael will once again be playing with Marc Leishman and Hudson Swafford for round two.  They will tee off tomorrow from the first hole at 7:20am local time (9:20am PT).

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Aloha 2017!


by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be making his 2017 PGA Tour debut tomorrow in Honolulu at the Sony Open in Hawaii.  This will be the first event in a busy West Coast Swing for Michael that will unfold over the next couple of months.  The Sony Open is known for its narrow fairways, warm trade winds, and scenic views of the Pacific Ocean.

Michael will be teeing off from the tenth hole at noon local Hawaii time (2pm PT) with Marc Leishman and Hudson Swafford.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard