Strong Finish Has Thompson T-8

Embed from Getty Images

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 20: Michael Thompson of the United States reacts on the 18th green during the third round of the RBC Heritage on June 20, 2020 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

by Roz Roberts III

A strong birdie-birdie finish has Michael Thompson tied for 8th heading into Sunday's final round of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Michael is 13 under par for the tournament and two shots off the lead.

Michael's third round got off to a rough start with a bogey at the first hole but he quickly righted things with back-to-back birdies on holes 2 and 3 and never looked back.  Michael shot a five under par (66) in the third round notching six birdies against that sole bogey on the opening hole.

Michael will be paired with Erik van Rooyen in Sunday's final round.  They tee off at 1:20PM ET.



Video

Michael Thompson birdies No. 17 in Round 3 at RBC Heritage In the third round of the 2020 RBC Heritage,




Photos

Embed from Getty Images

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 20: Michael Thompson of the United States bumps elbows with Ernie Els of South Africa on the 18th green during the third round of the RBC Heritage on June 20, 2020 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  Embed from Getty Images

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 20: Michael Thompson of the United States putts on the 18th green during the third round of the RBC Heritage on June 20, 2020 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) 

  

Embed from Getty Images

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 20: Michael Thompson of the United States reacts on the 18th green during the third round of the RBC Heritage on June 20, 2020 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  Embed from Getty Images
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA - JUNE 20: Michael Thompson of the United States reacts on the 18th green during the third round of the RBC Heritage on June 20, 2020 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on PGA TourCast 3D (Won't be active until round 4 starts)

How Great Is It To See M. Thompson Near the Top of the Leaderboard Again?

Embed from Getty Images

by Roz Roberts III

It's been a while since we've seen competitive golf but it's been even longer since Michael Thompson's name has been near the top of a PGA Tour leaderboard and I sort of forgot just how great it is to see that.  I'll admit it, I like it when his name is on the top page of the leaderboard when Golf Channel goes to commercial.  I can't help it.  It's fun.  It's exciting.  It makes me happy.  And I'm not going to apologize so deal with it.

Michael had a spectacular, six under par, 65 during the first round of the RBC Heritage and is currently tied for third, one shot off the lead.  Michael was bogey free and if you've followed his career, you won't be surprised to hear that Michael did most of his damage with the putter.  He was over +3.4 in strokes gained putting.  His iron and wedge games were also strong as he finished over +1.8 in strokes gained approach to the green.

Michael will once again be grouped with  Matt Wallace and Roger Sloan for Friday's second round.  They tee off from the first hole at 2:11pm ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Thompson and the PGA Tour Return to Hilton Head

by Roz Roberts III

This week's RBC Heritage will be the first PGA Tour event Michael Thompson will compete in since the Players Championship was halted after the first round earlier this year.  The RBC Heritage will be played without spectators but it will have full ShoitTrack support for following the tournament online.

The RBC Heritage is played at the Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, SC.  The course was designed by Pete Dye and Jack Nicklaus and features small greens and necessitates shaping shots.

Michael is grouped with  Matt Wallace and Roger Sloan.  They tee off from the tenth hole at 8:48am ET.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard
Michael's Group in 3D PGA TourCast View Hole 10

Happy 30th Birthday Michael!

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be celebrating his 30th birthday while playing in the first round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament at the Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, North Carolina.  Harbour Town is best known for its view of the Harbour Town Lighthouse from the 18th fairway.  The course is a short par 71 that requires accuracy off the tee.  

Michael will be playing with Charl Schwartzel and Lucas Glover.  They tee off from the tenth hole at 12:50pm ET.

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

Round 1 Recap at the RBC Heritage

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson had a nice round today at the RBC Heritage. He shot one over par and is T80.  Despite the one over par score, he hit some good shots.  Both his driving accuracy and GIR stats were above average for the field.  His Strokes-Gained-Putting stat was positive, which is also a good thing to see  Looking at his ShotTracker data, the biggest mistakes I saw was that he hit it into the water twice. He did it the first time on hole 4, however he was able to hole out from where he took a drop after doing so, thus saving par.  The second time was on hole 18, which resulted in one of three bogeys for the day.  The third bogey was the result of hitting into a greenside bunker and not making the sand save.  I'm looking for him to make a move up the leaderboard tomorrow, although I hear there is some heavy wind forecast, which may make things interesting.

Tee Time
Michael will be teeing off at 12:40 ET with Brian Gay and Stewart Cink

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Thompson Looks To Keep Masters Momentum

by Randy Roberts

The PGA Tour returns this week to the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Harbour Town is one of the shortest courses of the year and has some of the smallest greens, so accuracy off the tee and with approach shots will be key.  Greens-In-Regulation and Driving Accuracy will be two stats to keep an eye on.   Michael has played at this tournament twice before. He has one missed cut (2011) and a T-20 (2012).  He'll be looking to keep his momentum from the final round at the Masters where he shot a field leading -5 on Sunday.

Tee Time
Michael will be teeing off at 8:00 am ET with Brian Gay and Stewart Cink

Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Group ShotTracker

Putter Leads Thompson to Top 20 Finish

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's putter was on fire this week at the RBC Heritage.  In fact, he lead the tournament in Strokes Gained Putting, and the end result was Michael's fourth top 25 finish of the year as he ended up tied for 20th. 

Scores for the fourth round were generally higher than the first three rounds so Michael's one over par 72 was good enough to move up a few spots on the leaderboard.  The strong finish moves Michael up to to 56th on the Fedex Cup Points List which will be used during the end of the year playoffs.

Michael will take a scheduled week off before he tees it up again at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.

Thompson Holds His Ground

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson battled the postage stamp sized greens at Harbour Town in Round 3 of the RBC Heritage.  He came out on top again, finishing round 3 at 1 under par, -2 overall.  He stayed T-24th, only 2 shots shy of the top 10.  He'll be looking for a final jump up the leaderboard as he tees off at 11:55 am ET with Jason Dufner.

Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Michael's Group ShotTracker

Thompson Drops Bombs, Makes Cut

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson played really well in the second round at the RBC Heritage taking place at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  He shot one under par for the day and moves to the weekend T-24th.  He made two great putts for birdie: hole 10 he made a 17'-8" putt and hole 1 he made a 35'-02" bomb which is the longest of the tournament for that hole.  Another highlight was an approach shot on the par 5, 5th hole that came to rest a mere 16" away for an easy birdie.

He's now 8 for 11 on cuts made in 2012.

Second Round Tee Time
Michael will get his third round underway with playing partner Lee Janzen at 11:40am ET.

Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Michael's Group ShotTracker

Thompson's Putter Comes Alive

by Roz Roberts III

Last week, Michael Thompson took a well deserved break from the PGA Tour grind and the time off seems to have paid early dividends as his putter came alive today in the first round of the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Michael finished the first round at even par which leaves him in a tie for 24th.  For the first round, Michael ranked second in Strokes Gained Putting at a blistering +3.712.  This means that if he had putted at the field average he would have been +4 for the round.  Those putts came in the form of critical par saves as well as four converted birdies.

The Harbour Town Golf Links provided quite a difficult challenge today as the small, fast greens were difficult to hit and only 23 golfers were under par for the round while the leaders are at 4 under par.

Second Round Tee Time
Michael will get his second round underway with playing partners Tom Pernice Jr. and Graham DeLaet at 7:50am ET.  They will be teeing off from the tenth hole.

Online Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Michael's Group ShotTracker

PGA Tour Heads to Harbour Town

Fresh off a one week break, Michael Thompson is back on the PGA Tour in Hilton Head, South Carolina to play at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Michael tees off at 12:30 EST with Tom Pernice Jr and Graham DeLaet

Leaderboard
Michael Scorecard
Michael ShotTracker
Michael's Group ShotTracker