Thompson Taking On Web.com Tour Finals

Michael Thompson plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club on August 19, 2018 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images North America) 

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson finished last week's Wyndham Championship in a tie for 11th.  It was his best finish of the year and moved him up to 142nd in the Fedexcup points list but that wasn't enough to earn a spot in this week's PGA Tour playoffs which is reserved for the top 125 spots.  Finishing inside the the 150 spots was good enough to earn conditional PGA Tour status for next year which would typically provide access to 12 to 15 tournaments next year.

In an effort to earn better priority status for next year, Michael will compete in the Web.com Tour Finals.  The Finals is a four event competition and the top 25 money earners in the four event series will earn full cards for next year.  Tomorrow marks the start of the Finals as the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship gets underway in Columbus, Ohio.

Michael will be grouped with fellow PGA Tour alums David Lingmerth and Josh Teater.  They tee off at 7:31am EDT.

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Thompson Does Some Serious Moving

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson Saturday's moving day day at the Wyndham Championship was arguably his best round of the season.  He shot a bogey free 63 (seven under par) and climbed the leaderboard all the way up into a tie for second at the point he finished his round.  He went 18 for 18 in greens in regulation and his putter heated up converting five birdie chances including a 53 footer on the first hole.  He also holed out for eagle from the bunker on the par five 15th hole (see video above).

He is currently tied for seventh with a chunk of the field still needing to complete their third rounds.  Once the third round completes tomorrow the final round will get under way at 11:15am EDT.  Michael will be teeing off closer to 1:15pm EDT although we won't know for sure on his exact tee time until tomorrow morning.

Michael needs a good finish to move up the Fedexcup points list.  He is currently 158th and a 3rd place finish or better would allow him to climb inside the top 125.  Even if that doesn't happen he was the Web.com Tour Finals coming up which allow him a path to earn a tour card for next year.

“Ultimately top 125 is where I'd love to be, a win would be unbelievable,” Michael said. “But for me, really the most attainable goal right now is inside the top 150. If I get in there then I have status for next year at least for a few events.

I found a feel on the range yesterday with my irons that allows me to freely release the club through the ball.  I just went out and trusted it and knew that I had to hit it close and I had to give myself as many chances for birdie as, as possible.  And thankfully today the putter was a little bit more fine-tuned than it has been.

For me actually playing Reno was a great kind of set up to this in the position that I am because Reno, you have to be aggressive, you have to make birdies, and you have points, right?  So bogeys don't really hurt you.”

Thompson said having his wife and 2-year-old son – “who doesn’t care how I play,” has been a welcome distraction. On Sunday, his plan is simple:

“Just go shoot at pins and go have some fun.” 

Atricles
FedExCup update: Thompson climbs standings on Moving Day
Michael Round Three Recap

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Thompson Shoots +10...and is Happy About It

Michael Thompson plays his tee shot on the 12th hole during the first round of the Barracuda Championship at Montreaux Country Club on August 2, 2018 in Reno, Nevada. (Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America)

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson shot a +10 at the Barracuda Championship today...and that's good!  The Barracuda uses a modified Stableford scoring system and +10 put Michael in a tie for 10th after the first round.  His round was highlighted by an eagle on the par 5 18th hole where he holed out from 60 feet just short of the green.

This scoring system rewards aggression  where birdies and eagles are weighted more positively than bogeys and double bogeys are weighted negatively.

• Eagle                                +5
• Bridie                               +2
• Par                                     0
• Bogey                               -1
• Double bogey or worse    -3

With Montreux playing at anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 feet, Michael noted the elevation change and wind made for some interesting club selections on Thursday. "It sometimes feels like we're taking forever to figure out our number. You just have to be patient and crunch the numbers. We started with 5 percent for elevation at the beginning of the round and moved it to 10 percent. Then you factor in the wind. We try and keep it simple, but there's definitely some additional math involved."

Michael is playing with DJ Trahan and Steve Wheatcroft for the first couple of rounds and they begin round two on Friday at 12:11pm PDT.

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