Five Straight Birdies Lift Thompson Into Top Ten

After a four under par 68 in round two, Michael Thompson is currently tied for 6th

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's second round at the Reno Tahoe Open was fairly unremarkable through the first eight holes of the day.  He had two early birdies but two bogeys, including one on the par five 13th,  left him at even par heading into the par five 18th hole.  That's when the unremarkable turned 180 degrees and became noteworthy.  He started a run of five straight birdies that vaulted him up the leaderboard into a momentary tie for first at seven under par.

He made par at the next three holes and then experienced a bit of a hiccup as he double bogeyed the par five eighth hole which was his seventeenth of the day.  Rather than ending the round on that sour note, he birdied hole #9 to finish the day with a round of 68.  The six under par score over the first two rounds has him in a tie for 6th going into the weekend.

Commenting on his round Michael said "I had a great day. Two bad holes. Both par-5s unfortunately. If I would have played those two holes even par I would be at 9-under right now. It is what it is.
I played great. Had a lot fun out there. Obviously finishing on a birdie is a positive note, so I'll try to keep it going for tomorrow."

So how is Michael feeling going into the weekend near the top of the leaderboard?  "I'm just going to stick with my game plan. I'm starting to get used to how far the ball is flying. There are a lot calculations we have to make on each shot.  But I feel ready to go. After the experience of the Canadian Open being in the lead after two days, being tied for the lead, that was a big learning experience.  Now I'm more prepared, and I'm just going to go out tomorrow and see how I can do."

He'll be teeing off at 1:05pm PT with Chris Riley.

Golf Channel Television Times (all times PT)

Sat, 8/6: 3:30p - 6p

Sun, 8/7:    4p - 6p

Online Scoring Links
If you were following along with Shot Tracker over the last couple of days you know that they were having severe technical difficulties.  They had the front nine and back nine reversed (a result of the tournament flipping the nines to end on a very scorable par 5).  After two days they have fixed the problems.

Leaderboard
Michael Thompson Scorecard
Michael Thompson Shot Tracker
Michael Thompson's Group on Shot Tracker

Photo of the Day

by Roz Roberts III

I'm not sure it's a complement or not, but Michael Thompson was featured in the "Photo of the Day" segment in the Reno Gazette Journal.  Here's a thumbnail.  Click on the image to get the whole picture and the story behind it.

Video: Thompson Birdies Hole #16 During Round 1 of Reno Tahoe Open

Swirling Winds Can't Cool Off Thompson

by Roz Roberts III

Often times looking at the leaderboard can be deceiving.  A casual look at the Reno-Tahoe Open leaderboard says that Michael Thompson had a good round of -2, sits 5 shots of the lead and is in a tie for 18th.  Take a closer look, however, and you see that Michael had a fantastic round in swirling mountain winds and had the third best score of those teeing off in the afternoon session.  All but two of the top 17 scores came from the morning rounds when the winds were significantly calmer.

Michael's front nine was especially good as he had two birdies and no bogeys and made the turn at two under par.  Michael's first of only two bogeys didn't come until fourteenth hole.  The two bogeys on the back nine were balanced by two birdies including one at the finishing eighteenth hole.

After his round on Thursday, Michael sounded upbeat when he said, via Twitter, "Solid day on a beautiful golf course. Excited to dominate the morning round tomorrow!"

Michael, along with playing partners Scott McCarron and Dicky Thompson, tees off from the tenth hole at 8:06am PT.

 Golf Channel Television Times (all times PT)

Fri, 8/5: 3:30p - 5:30p

Sat, 8/6: 3:30p - 6p

Sun, 8/7:  4p - 6p

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

Reno-Tahoe Open Preview

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be competing in the Reno-Tahoe Open which gets underway on Thursday at the Montreux Golf and Country Club.  Located halfway between Reno and Lake Tahoe, the Jack Nicklaus designed course is 7,472 yards long but plays shorter since the course sits at an elevation between 5,000 and 6,000 feet. The rustic setting features creeks, lakes, waterfalls, and pine forest.  Despite some generous fairways and the extra length off the tee due to the elevation, the course's small undulating greens make the course one of the more difficult on the tour.  In fact, last year Montreux ranked as the 6th most difficult.

Michael's first round starts from the first tee ay 1:06pm PT. He is paired with Scott McCarron and fellow University of Alabama alum Dickey Pride.

 Television Times (all times PT)

Thu, 8/4: 3:30p - 5:30p

Fri, 8/5: 3:30p - 5:30p

Sat, 8/6: 3:30p - 6p

Sun, 8/7:  4p - 6p

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