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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Leaderboard

Michael's Scorecard

Thompson is +13...and Happy About It

by Roz Roberts III

There is only one event on the PGA Tour when being +13 after two rounds is a good thing:  the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada.  Michael Thompson is +13 at the Barracuda and that is good for a tie for 22nd.  Since the tournament uses the Modified Stableford point system, higher point totals will move you up the leaderboard.  After two rounds Greg Chalmers leads with +24.

Michael is fairly high up the leaderboard despite not putting well.  He is 80th in the stokes gained putting stat at nearly -4 for the tournament.  The rest of his game has been downright fantastic as he ranks first in the strokes gained tee to green stat at +7.7 which mean that at this event he has played nearly 8 strokes better than average with his driver and iron play.  If he can find his normal putting form tomorrow, good things are bound to happen.

Michael will be playing with D.H Lee for Saturday's third round.  They tee off at 1:05pm PT.

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Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

The Barracuda Rewards Agression

by Roz Roberts III

There will be two different events handing out PGA Tour money and FedexCup points tomorrow.  While the bigger name players will be playing in a WGC event, the bulk of the PGA Tour regulars, including Michael Thompson,  will be playing in Reno, Nevada at the Barracuda Championship.

The Barracuda Championship differs from most PGA Tour events because it uses a Modified Stableford scoring system rather than simple stroke play.

The scoring system rewards aggression and uses the following point totals:

Modified Stableford scoring:  

•  Double-Eagle = 8 pts 

•  Eagle = 5 pts 

•  Birdie = 2 pts 

•  Par = 0 pts 

•  Bogey = -1 pt 

•  2+ Bogeys = -3 pts

Michael will be teeing off at 8:28am PT from the tenth hole with Arjun Atwal and Ben Curtis.

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Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Thompson In the "Biggest Little City in the World"

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson tees off Thursday in Reno, Nevada where he will be competing in the Barracuda Championship.  The Barracuda Championship uses a modified Stableford scoring system which encourages aggressive play and awards positive points for birdies, eagles, and double eagles while subtracting points for bogeys and worse.

The scoring used for the Barracuda Championship is as follows:

• Double Eagle: 8 points
• Eagle: 5 points
• Birdie: 2 points
• Par: 0 points
• Bogey: -1 point
• Double Bogey or more: -3 points

Michael tees off at 1:06pm PT from the tenth hole.  He is paired with Mark Wilson and Jonas Blixt.


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard