Domination on the Back 9 Leads to 13th Place Finish

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson had a great finish in the 4th round of the Justin Timberlake Open in Las Vegas, Nevada. He shot 2 under for the final round, -11 overall to finish T-13th.  He earned an additional $72,500 to move up to 59th on the money list for the year.  His strong finish was in no doubt due to his stellar performance on the back nine.  He shot an amazing 16 under for the tournament on the second half of the course.  Hole 16 was his best hole, which he played at 5 under for the tournament, including an eagle in the 4th round.

I also heard that he and his wife Rachel recently bought their first home together.  Congratulations to them both, it was well earned.  I"m sure Michael, Rachel and their cat Bubbles will enjoy settling in to the new digs!

Michael will be taking this week off and then will be back in action for the McGladrey Classic, where he finished 3rd last year.  See you then!

Another Day in the 60's in Las Vegas

by Roz Roberts III

During Saturday's third round, Michael Thompson continued his solid play at the JT Shriner's Open.  He shot a three under par 68 and is currently tied for 22nd at nine under par.  After three rounds, Michael is a combined eleven under par on the back nine and, for the second day in a row, Michael finished with a birdie on his last hole.

Michael will be looking to carry his momentum forward into Sunday's final round.  He will be playing with Jeff Overton and Camilo Villegas.  The trio tees off from the first hole at 9:50am PT.

Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

Five Is Nice

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson rode five consecutive birdies up the leaderboard and inside the cut line in today's second round at the JT Shriners Open.  He shot a five under par 66 and is currently tied for 33rd.  The birdie barrage started on hole #14 (he started on the back nine) and didn't end until he missed a 9 foot birdie putt on hole #1.  During the hot streak, Michael made four putts between 11 and 15 feet.  He also added a birdie on his last hole of the day (#9) when his approach shot from 95 yards came to rest inside of three feet.

Michael will start his third round Saturday at 9:10am PT on hole #10 with Camilo Villegas and Brendan Steele.


Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

JT Shriners Open's Second Round is Underway

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson shot 1 one under par during the first round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.  That leaves him right at the cut line going into the today's second round.  He will only again be playing with Brendon De Jonge and Martin Flores.  The group tees off from hole #10 at 12:41pm PT.

Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

Fall Series Kicks Off in Vegas

by Roz Roberts III

After a month off, Michael Thompson will be competing this week at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.  I think this tournament wins the contest for the event with the longest name.  The JT Shriners Open marks the first event in the PGA Tour Fall series which contains four events.  For many players these events mark the last chance to get into the top 125 on the money list which will ensure PGA Tour cards for next year.  This year, Michael is comfortably within the top 125 so he wont have that added pressure on his shoulders.

Michael will be paired with Brendon De Jonge and Martin Flores.  The group tees off from hole #1 at 8:06am PT on Thursday morning.

Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

MDF?

JT Shriners Open - Round 3 Recap
by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson finished in an unusual spot after the third round of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Open.  He ended up at -3 overall and with the "Made Cut Did Not Finish" (MDF) classification. Due to this status, he will not get to play the fourth and final round tomorrow.  He will take home a paycheck, and if the FedEx Cup season was still going, he would have earned additional FedEx cup points too.

The MDF classification was created to keep the number of players down to a reasonable number in order for there to be a timely finish for television on the final day.  The normal cut occurs after the second round and is the top 70 players plus ties.  Yesterday, there were 12 players who finished T-68 like Michael, meaning there were a total of 80 players playing in today's third round.  In order to ensure a more predictable finish time for television, when there are 78 or more players making the initial cut, they do another cut to the top 70 plus ties after the third round.  Since Michael finished the 3rd round in what would have been 75th place, he ended up as "MDF".  There were five other players who finished worse than Michael and they finished as MDF as well.  The upside of MDF is that unlike the first cut, the players still get paid, the downside is that they don't get another chance to improve their position.

Thus, Michael walks away with an additional $8360 which still counts toward the official money list, and a rare sunday off even though he made the cut.

Leaderboard
Scorecard
Live Projected Money List

Sunday Update: With the finish of the tournament, we now know that Michael stayed at 113th on the money list.

Sources: Answers.yahoo.com, PGATour.com, ESPN.com

Michael Makes the Cut!

by Randy Roberts


JT Shriners Open - Round 2 Recap

Things started off on the wrong foot in Michael Thompson's group during Round 2 of the JT Shriners Open at TPC Summerlin.  His entire group scored a bogey or worse on the first hole of the day, #10.  In Michael's case his tee shot hit a tree which forced him to lay up in the fairway.  Things quickly turned around though and the hilight of the day ended up being his tee shot on the par 3 #14.  His shot landed right next to the hole, a mere 7 inches away from making it in.  A hole-in-one at the JT Shriners Open would mean a new Hyundai to whoever could pull off such a feat. It was oh-so-close and as I write this, remains the closest that anyone has come on #14 the entire tournament.  Michael went on to birdie two more holes on the back nine, making the turn at -2 for the day, -5 overall.

The front nine again proved to be the more difficult half of the course.  A couple of bogeys at holes 1 and 2 left Michael at even par for the day (-3 overall).  With the scores being so low (the leaders were at -12) those of us spectating knew that he would need at least one if not two more birdies to have a chance at playing on the weekend. Michael put himself in position time and again, but the birdie putts just weren't sinking.  Finally, on hole 7 his second shot left him with a 3 ft putt.  As Michael lined up his putt,  the sky opened up and it started to rain.  The putt dropped into the hole, and the rain almost immediately went away.  That got him to -4 which at the time was on the positive side of the cut line.  A par on #8 left him with one last chance to get some extra insurance for the cut, the par 5 #9.  But alas, it was not meant to be.  A missed birdie putt left him at -4 which at the time was good for 62nd.

With quite a few players left on the course, Michael's fate was a waiting game.  With the top 70 plus ties making the cut, we sat and crossed our fingers as we watched his position change to T-66th.  A delay due to lightning stretched out long enough that we left the course hoping for the best.  Finally in the early evening, play had restarted and enough players had finished to determine that the cut line was locked in at -4.  He had made it in tied for 68th!

Here's the links for following Michael at the JT Shriners Open

Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael Thompson ShotTracker
Michael Thompson's Group ShotTracker

The final two rounds will all be televised on the Golf Channel
Sat, Sun 4:00pm-7:00pm ET

JT Shriners Open - Round 1 Recap

by Randy Roberts


JT Shriners Open - Round 1 Recap

Michael Thompson had a solid round today at TPC Summerlin. The 7:00 am tee time meant an escape from the afternoon heat and no waiting on the tees since his group was the first out of the gates.

Michael played well on the front nine with seven pars and one birdie to offset one bogey. However the back nine was where he started to shine. He scored four birdies along with one bogey to finish the day strongly at -3. His putter seemed to be working particularly well today with several nice par saves and long putts for birdie. He could have ended up at -5 with one putt rolling around the edge of the cup and others missing by an oh-so-close distance. I guess that's golf for you.

As a spectator, TPC Summerlin was a fan friendly course. The course is lined with cart paths for easy walking. There's not too much as far as steep hills. Lots of trees lined the course for a shady escape from the sun. The course is built within a master planned community and is lined by houses most of the way. The houses ranged from nice suburban homes to majestic Mediterranean estates that looked more like a resort. With Las Vegas being an easy travel destination, I give it two thumbs up as an enjoyable destination for a golf fan to watch an event.

Here's the links for following Michael at the JT Shriners Open

Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael Thompson ShotTracker
Michael Thompson's Group ShotTracker

The last three rounds will all be televised on the Golf Channel
Fri, Sat, Sun 4:00pm-7:00pm ET

Justin Timberlake Shriners Open

by Randy Roberts

The Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (JT Shriners Open) is set to begin on thursday at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, NV.  The course is owned by the PGA and was built in 1991 with the intent of hosting PGA tournaments.  The layout is optimized for viewing by the fans through the use of spectator mounds and natural amphitheaters.  I'll soon be able to give a better review of the course as I am set to drive out to Las Vegas to watch the play in person for the first two rounds.  Be sure to follow us on twitter for updates.  Michael tees off at 7:00 AM thursday and will be playing alongside John Merrick and John Riegger.

With the closeout of the FedEx Cup season last week, the next four tournaments make up a "Fall Series".  The top 125 from the money list at the finish of the fall series will be given a Tour Card for the next year.  Those who finish below the top 125 will get a pass to the final stage of Q School, where they will have one last chance to retain their tour card or else be transfered to the Nationwide Tour.

So what does all this mean for Thompson?  Right now Michael sits at 113th with just under $613,000.  My rough guesstimate is that he'll need to finish with something in the range of $700-725k to retain a spot for next year.  It'll be a race to the finish for many players and should certainly be exciting to follow.

Here's the links for following Michael at the JT Shriners Open

Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael Thompson ShotTracker
Michael Thompson's Group ShotTracker

All four rounds will be televised on the Golf Channel
Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 4:00pm-7:00pm ET