Vote Thompson for Shot of the Week!

by Roz Roberts III
PGATour.com has a weekly vote for the "Top Shot of the Week".  This week Michael Thompson's near ace on hole #15 at the Viking Classic is one of the choices.  Seeing as I am not an impartial observer, I encourage everyone to go vote for Michael (choice #4) over at Shot of the Week.  Voting lasts through Tuesday and as of this posting Michael's shot was at 28% (just 2 percentage points behind the current leader).

Use the following link to support one slick shot:  Shot of the Week. Don't forget to select shot #4!

Hot Putter Can't Rescue "Terrible" Day

by Roz Roberts III

In the "pay for play" world of professional golf, there's never a good time to have a bad day.  However, if you're going to have a bad day, it's definitely better to have one on the weekend after you've already made the cut.  Michael Thompson had just such a day today in the third round of the Viking Classic.  Michael had three bogeys and a double bogey en route to a one over par 73. The average score for the day was three shots better. 

After the round, via Twitter, Michael said "What a terrible day. At least my putter was hot. Too bad they were all for par.  Oh and to top it all off, I was chosen to do a drug test today."

The round could have been worse.  On the eighteenth hole, Michael hit his second shot into the water.  It marked the second hole in a row that he had been in a water hazard.  After taking the penalty stroke and hitting his fourth shot to 24 feet from the hole, it looked like another bogey was going on the scorecard.  Michael made the clutch 24 foot putt to save par.   Despite not scoring well, Michael putted better than the previous two rounds.  He only had 26 putts for the entire round and averaged 1.6 putts per green in regulation.    Unfortunately, he only hit 56% of the greens in regulation.

Michael dropped into a tie for 57th for the tournament and is 6 under par after three rounds.  His fourth round will start early in the day so he should be able to beat some of the heat.  He tees off from the first hole at 7:50am CT with Rod Pampling.

Live Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Thompson Scorecard
Michael Thompson Shot Tracker
Michael Thompson's Group on Shot Tracker

Thompson Tide Rolls On

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson has been on a roll.  On Friday, despite a 2 hour weather delay to start the day and a two hour weather delay that occurred after his first 14 holes, Michael managed to card a 3 under par 69 which leaves him at -7 after the first two rounds at the Viking Classic.  This marks the fourth straight tournament that Michael has made the cut and his fifth straight round in the 60's.  Michael currently sits in a tie for 31st.

The second weather delay slowed Michael's momentum a bit when he made a bogey on his first hole after the delay.  That bogey marked his first of the tournament.

Michael's third round gets underway at 1:00pm CT and he's paired with Chris DiMarco for the third straight round.  The duo will be joined by J.P. Hayes from the first tee .

Television Coverage
The tournament will be televised on the Golf Channel  Here's the weekend schedule:

Sat, 7/16          Sun, 7/17
4p - 7p ET       4p - 7p ET


Live Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Thompson Scorecard
Michael Thompson Shot Tracker
Michael Thompson's Group On Shot Tracker

Thompson's Near Hole-In-One Declared "Shot of the Day"

Thompson's Cooking With Gas at The Viking Classic

by Randy Roberts

Michael Thompson's game is still on fire.  Ever since he declared on June 10 that he had an "epiphany" regarding his game, a recipe for success shall we say, his play has been red hot.  Playing in the familiar steamy climate of the south with University of Alabama teammates in the field and former college coach Jay Seawell in the gallery, Thompson posted a bogey free round of 68 (-4).  Birdie opportunities abound at the Annandale Golf Club, and Thompson was serving them up.

He also had some near misses and an oh-so-close hole-in-one that decided to hop out of the pot BAM! as can be seen in the video below.



Michael tees off in the second round with Chris DiMarco and Chris Stroud at 8:10 CT from the 10th tee

Television Coverage
The tournament will be televised on the Golf Channel.
Here's the schedule:

Fri, 7/15         Sat, 7/16          Sun, 7/17
4p - 7p ET     4p - 7p ET       4p - 7p ET


Live Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Thompson Scorecard
Michael Thompson Shot Tracker
Michael Thompson's Group On Shot Tracker

Thompson Birdies Hole 15 en Route to a First Round 68

'Bama Golf "Taking Over the Tour"

by Roz Roberts III

The PGA Tour is playing in the heart of the Southeast Conference this week as the Viking Classic is being held in Madison, Mississippi.  For Michael Thompson and five other former University of Alabama students (Jason Bohn, Steve Lowery, Dicky Pride, Bud Cauley, Matthew Swan), it's a chance to play just 250 miles from their alma matter.

Michael practiced with former teammate Matthew Swan and recent UA graduate Bud Cauley earlier in the week.  UA golf coach Jay Seawell, will make the three hour drive to Missippi to watch his former players on Thursday.

Via Twitter, coach Seawell said that he's "going to Jackson MS tomorrow to watch my bama boys Matthew Swan, Micahel Thompson, and Bud Cauley at the PGA event Viking Classic.  Bama golf is taking over the tour, I like it!"

The weather, as you would expect this time of year, is expected to be hot and humid.  Fitness will definitely come into play this week.   The par 72, Annandale Golf Course is 7199 yards in length and the course, designed by Jack Nicklaus was ranked 25th out of 52 in difficulty on the PGA Tour last year.

Michael tees off in the first round with Chris DiMarco and Chris Stroud at 1:00pm CT from the first tee.

Television Coverage
The tournament will be televised on the Golf Channel.  Here's the schedule:

Thu, 7/14: 4p - 7p ET

Fri, 7/15: 4p - 7p ET

Sat, 7/16: 4p - 7p ET

Sun, 7/17: 4p - 7p ET

Live Scoring Links
Leaderboard
Michael Thompson Scorecard
Michael Thompson Shot Tracker
Michael Thompson's Group On Shot Tracker