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