"Michael H. Thompson Bridge" Completed at Ol' Colony Golf Course

While Michael Thompson was making his debut on the PGA tour at the Sony Open, The "Michael H. Thompson Bridge" made it's debut at the Ol' Colony Golf Complex in Tuscaloosa, AL. The bridge was a service project by two local high school golf teams to thank the golf course for it's support through the years. The 35' walking bridge connects the gold and blue tee boxes on the 14th hole and will make it easier for golfers to traverse a depression that conveys runoff to a nearby pond.

Of the 24 student atheletes who helped build the bridge, 18 were from the Holy Spirit Catholic High men's and women's golf teams, and 6 were from the Tuscaloosa County High School Men's golf team.

Coach Kevin Campbell from Holy Spirit Catholic High said the project was "a big hit" with the youth and from the pictures below, it looked like they had a pretty good time in the process.

You can view the photos by clicking the play button below or view it at Flick.com

Naming the bridge after Michael Thompson was something that Coach Campbell wanted to do because "Michael's performance in the 2008 Masters exemplified the character we're trying to instill in our own golfers and because Ol' Colony was his home course while at the University of Alabama." Coach Campbell was referring to an incident at the 2008 Masters (shown below) where Michael called a penalty on himself because the ball had moved after he had grounded his club, even though no one else saw it move.



After the Masters, Michael discussed the incident in an interview posted on Rolltide.com

Q: "Let's go ahead and talk about it first: hole 15. Did the world see the Eagle Scout in you on that one? "

A: Yeah. That's probably part of it. It's just something unfortunate that happened. But it's something that you've got to deal with. I had put my club down. I had completely addressed the ball and as soon as I put my putter down, the ball moved. And according to the rules, that's a one-stroke penalty and you try to replace the ball and you replay the shot. So that's what I did and I didn't make the putt. I was looking at about eight feet for birdie and ended up having eight feet for par. And I missed it and made bogey."

Q: The TV announcers said no one may have ever even noticed it, but you immediately spoke up. If you had to do it all over again, would you still penalize yourself?

A: "Oh absolutely. Every time. There's no doubt. No question. It's the rules of golf. You don't break the rules of golf. Especially in a setting like this it can always comes back to haunt you and, if not from someone else, it will always haunt you personally and I would rather live with me giving myself a penalty than I would with me cheating."

In the end, Michael missed out on an opportunity to make the cut at the Masters, but he earned the respect of the golf community, and even ended up with a bridge named after him. Not so bad after all.

Bridge at Ol' Colony Golf Course To Be Named After Michael Thompson

I received an email thursday from Coach Kevin Campbell of Holy Spirit Catholic High School in Tuscaloosa, AL. He said that he was organizing the construction of a 35' walking bridge at the Ol' Colony Golf Complex that will connect the gold and blue tee boxes on the 14th hole. They were doing the project as a way to thank the golf course for their support of local high school golf programs. What Coach Campbell asked next came as a nice surprise:

"My team would like to honor Michael by naming a soon-to-be constructed bridge after him at Ol' Colony Golf Complex. Because Michael's performance in the 2008 Masters exemplifies the character we're trying to instill in our own golfers and because Ol' Colony was his home course while at the University of Alabama, I would like his permission to place his name on this new bridge".

In true Alabama fashion, Coach Campbell ended his email with:

"Roll Tide!"

They will have 12 golfers, ranging from 7th through 12th grade from three different local schools to help with the construction next weekend: Holy Spirit Catholic High, Tuscaloosa County High and Northridge High

When told about the project, Michael said

"WOW! I know right where they're talking about adding that. It's a par 5 dogleg left. There's a creek or a runoff for water when it rains heavily. Right now you have to walk down and walk back up. I imagine they'll do a pretty good job. It'll make it easier and it will look nicer too."

Michael Thompson played in the 2008 Masters as an amateur, qualifiying by finishing as the runner-up in the 2007 US Amateur. Standing right on the cut-line with only a few holes left to play, Michael called a penalty on himself when the ball moved after he had grounded his club, even though he was the only one who saw it move. The penalty came at a terrible time, and he went on to miss the cut. He received praise from the golf communtiy for his honesty and integrity shown that day.

The response from others about the incident, has been positive.

"After that happened I actually got a lot of mail from professors at Alabama or other schools and pastors at churches, that they used my example in their sermon that weekend. It was really cool."

Construction on the bridge is set to begin January 15th while Michael is playing in his first PGA event after earning his PGA Tour Card.

Click for larger image