Thompson Facing US Open Conditions... Again

by Roz Roberts III

For the second time in three weeks, Michael Thompson is facing a US Open golf course under US Open conditions.  This week, instead of the actual US Open, Michael is competing in the AT&T National at the Congressional Country Club.  Dry, hot conditions have the course playing harder than it did during last year's US Open when Rory McIlroy won with a score of 16 under par after rain softened the course considerably.  This year, Congressional is under a heat wave and it is punishing the field.

In today's first round, Michael posted a four over par 75 which has him in a tie for 76th.  After his round, Michael said

My score today wasn't all that bad considering the conditions.  It's playing like a U.S. Open. I think these are the conditions that the USGA wanted last year.

When Michael tees off at noon on Friday, the temperature is expected to be near 100 degrees.  Michael said

The heat is going to affect a lot of players.  It's hot, especially when you're wearing these pants. I've been living in the South long enough to where I should be used to it, but it does sap your energy.  You definitely have to drink a lot of water. I probably drink a bottle of water every two holes.

Michael tees off from the first hole at 12:00pm ET with Tom Pernice Jr. and Sung Kang.

Editor's Note:
The quotes in this post were taken from an interesting article on ESPN.com.  You can find the whole thing here:

Congressional Playing Like Fifth Major

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AT&T National Kicks Off Thursday

by Roz Roberts III

The Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland will be hosting it's first PGA Tournament since last year's US Open.  Due to wetter than normal conditions last year, Congressional played much easier than the USGA would have liked for a US Open.  For this year's AT&T National, don't expect scores to be so low.  Hard, fast conditions are expected and many expect that typical US Open-like scores will follow.

Michael Thompson will be teeing off in the first group of the day with Tom Pernice Jr. and Sung Kang.  The trio will be teeing off from the par 3, tenth hole at 7am ET.

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On to Maryland

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson missed the cut last week at the Traveler's Championship but that gave him a couple of days off to rest and recuperate after a hectic week and a half.  He gets after it again this week at the AT&T National.  Last year, Michael tied for 38th at this event but it was held at the Aronimink Golf Club.  This year the event moves to the historic Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.

AT&T National a Great Event for Fathers and Sons

by Roz Roberts III

If you've been out to a PGA Tour event lately, you'll have noticed that the PGA Tour has been making a concerted effort to reach out to younger fans.  At most tournaments they host a youth clinic in which young golf fans can get up close to a PGA Tour player or two.  But where the PGA Tour has been really successful in reaching young fans is with their players being approachable and available to fans for autographs and photos.

Over at marplenewtown.patch.com they published a post on the AT&T National tournament and how it was such a great event for father's and sons.  If you follow our blog or know anything Michael Thompson, you won't be surprised to find that he is mentioned specifically in the article.  Here's a brief snippet from the post by Joseph Santoliquito:

Perhaps no one received a bigger thrill than the number of kids that filled the galleries. Seated in the 18th-hole gallery absorbing every shot were a pair of precocious onlookers, 13-year-old David and 10-year-old Michael Asch, the sons of KYW radio anchorman Jeff Asch.

David’s personal favorite was Rickie Fowler, a stylish young golfer who was decked out in ostentatious orange from head-to-tie on Sunday—including his orange shoes and tee. Fowler, who’s never won a PGA Tour event, suffered through a bad front nine on Sunday that took him out of contention.

“I play golf and learned from watching the pros this closely that golf isn’t an easy game to play and you need patience,” said David, an eighth grader at Wissahickon Middle School. “I don’t have a lot of friends my age that are into golf, but I like the game and I like playing it. This is my first golf tournament and it’s great. I’m having a great time. But I wanted to see Fowler win because he is a young guy and he’s never won before. I was hoping to see him win his first PGA event.”

Michael, David’s younger brother, received a little more from the event—an autographed Ping cap from Michael Thompson’s caddy, who came over on the first tee and handed the cap to young Michael, telling him he may need it if it rained later. It was a forever keepsake for someone watching a major golf event live for the first time.
...
Perhaps a lasting image of the AT&T National didn’t come on the course, but rather in the 18th-hole gallery. It was Michael Asch in his Phillies’ Cliff Lee T-shirt and his new autographed golf cap nestled in his father’s arms resting quietly as the day was winding down.

It was a great day for Watney and agreat day for fathers and sons.

The full article can be found here and is well worth a read:

Nick Watney Wins the AT&T National at Aronimink:  But the PGA Tour event was a great time for fathers and sons

Thompson Finishes "Week Off" in a Tie for 38th

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson was supposed to be vacationing this week.  The life of a PGA Tour rookie, however, rarely proceeds as planned.  After receiving a sponsor's exemption into this week's AT&T National, the week off became a work week and an unexpected trip to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Michael took advantage of his opportunity and finished the tournament in a tie for 38th.  For the second straight round, Michael shot a 1 over par 71 including a birdie on his final hole on the difficult Aronimink Golf Club course.

The finish moved Michael up the Fedex Cup points list into 127th and solidified his position at 119 on the money list.  There are major benefits to finishing inside the top 125 on both of those lists.  The top 125 players on the Fedex Cup points list get invited to the end of the year playoff series which starts with The Barclays at the end of August.  The top 125 players on the money list at the end of the year get a PGA Tour card for the following year.

Solid Play Leads to Second Straight Working Weekend for Thompson

by Roz Roberts III

After a solid par 70 in the first round of the AT&T National, Michael Thompson was looking to make his second straight cut.  However, round two started off rather slowly as Michael started the day with a double bogey followed by a bogey.  Despite the three over par start, Michael just put his head down and played solid golf.  He was eventually rewarded with back-to-back birdies on holes 16 and 17 and went on to play his final 9 holes at two under par to finish the round at one under par.  The one under round of 69 was good enough to leave him in a tie for 21st and well inside the cut line for the second straight week.

Michael finished Saturday's third round at one over par.  Michael was sitting at 2 over par going into hole #18 when he landed his second shot within 3 feet of the hole which lead to an easy birdie and gave him some much needed momentum heading into the final round.

After the round, via Twitter, Michael said "That birdie on the last hole is going to bode well for me tomorrow! Excited to dominate tomorrow!"

Michael slipped 19 spots into a tie for 40th.  Overall, the scores were significantly lower on Saturday than they had been on Thursday and Friday.  Some players said that the grounds crew had significantly slowed the greens down by heavily watering them overnight, however, everyone expects the greens to be faster and firmer for the final round.
  
For Sunday's fourth and final round, Michael is paired with amateur Patrick Cantlay and Chris Riley.  They tee off from the tenth hole at 9:40am ET.  Cantlay has gotten lots of press recently after he finished as the low amateur at the US Open and made the cut at both the Traveler's Championship and the AT&T National.

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AT&T National Providing US Open Like Challenge

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson shot a solid even par 70 during the first round of the AT&T National on Thursday.  The even par round was good enough to put him in a tie for 29th.

The general consensus from the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania is that the AT&T National is playing more like a US Open than US Open just completed at Congressional.  Fast, hard greens, firm fairways and difficult hole locations are making players work for every shot and the high scores from round 1 reflect the how tough the course is playing.  Only 28 of 120 players were under par and the average score was 71.5 on the par 70 course.

Michael's round contained two birdies and two bogeys.  Michael did exactly what you need to do on this course:  hit fairways and greens in regulation (GIR).   For the first round, Michael hit 10 out of 14 fairways (T18th) and hit 16 out of 18 GIR (T2nd).  The solid round came on the heels of his PGA Tour best ever 62 in the final round of last week's Traveler's Championship.

Michael will be teeing off from the tenth hole on Friday in the last group of the morning at 8:59am ET. 

Television Coverage
The AT&T National will be covered on the Golf Channel and CBS this week.  Here's the upcoming television coverage schedule:

Day	Date	Network	Time
FRI	7/1	GOLF	3 - 6 PM ET
SAT	7/2	GOLF	1 - 2:30 PM ET
SAT	7/2	CBS	3 - 6 PM ET
SUN	7/3	GOLF	1 - 2:30 PM ET
SUN	7/3	CBS	3 - 6:30 PM ET

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AT&T National Gets Underway Today

by Roz Roberts III

One of the added benefits of last week's fourth place finish for Michael Thompson was a spot in this week's 120 man field AT&T National.  Normally on the PGA Tour, finishing in the top 10 gets you into the following week's tournament.  However, that wasn't the case for this week's tournament since it is a smaller field invitational.  However, the Tiger Woods Foundation extended a sponsor's exemption to Michael after his final round 62 last week.

Via Twitter, Greg McLaughlin from the Tiger Woods Foundation said

Just called Michael Thompson (62 today) and gave him an exemption for next week. He was happy. Well deserved. No top 10's here b/c of Invit.

Michael will be teeing off from the first hole on Thursday in the last group of the day at 1:39pm ET. 

Television Coverage
The AT&T National will be covered on the Golf Channel and CBS this week.  Here's the television coverage schedule:

Day	Date	Network	Time
THU	6/30	GOLF	3 - 6 PM ET
FRI	7/1	GOLF	3 - 6 PM ET
SAT	7/2	GOLF	1 - 2:30 PM ET
SAT	7/2	CBS	3 - 6 PM ET
SUN	7/3	GOLF	1 - 2:30 PM ET
SUN	7/3	CBS	3 - 6:30 PM ET

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