Thompson Takes On Season's Last Major

by Roz Roberts III

Tomorrow, Michael Thompson will tee off in this season's last major:  the PGA Championship.  This year's PGA will take place at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY.  The Donald Ross designed course is a classic par 70 and will look a lot like a US Open as the rough has been described as "penal".  There has been a lot of talk that a score of par may win.  That remains to be seen but Oak Hill is expected to play tough and that's typically the kind of course and tournament Michael likes.

Michael will be playing the first two rounds with Marcel Siem and Bo Van Pelt.  They get their first round off at 7:50am ET.

There won't be Shot Link coverage this week (since that is a PGA Tour feature) but the PGA website will have live streaming coverage of the par 3 holes starting at 1pm ET.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Leaderboard (PGA Tour)
Leaderboard (PGA site - includes additional features if a player's detail is expanded including play-by-play)
PGA Live Streaming

Thompson Saved His Best for Last

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson saved his best round at the Bridgestone Invitational for last as he shot a bogey-free two under par 68 and finished in a tie for 21st.  This marks Michael's second consecutive top 25 finish in a WGC event.  He moved up to 38th on the Fedex Cup points list and up to 34th on the money list.  He also moved up to 51st on the OWGR list (22nd in the US).

Michael's round was highlighted by some great ball striking.  He hit 10 out of 14 fairways and two of the missed fairways were in the first cut of intermediate rough.  He also hit 12 out of 18 greens in regulation and four of those missed greens were on the fringe.

Despite the great ball striking, Michael was happiest with his putting.  After the round he tweeted "NO 3 PUTTS!"

Next week he'll be in Rochester, New York to compete at the PGA Championship which will be held at the Oak Hill Country Club's East Course.

Thompson Holding His Ground at WGC Bridgestone

by Randy Roberts

Michael held his ground in the third round of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. Finishing the day at even par, he moved up several spots to finish the day T-36.

He'll be paired with Ernie Els during Sunday's final round, teeing off at 10:55am.

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

*****

If there is any downside to playing in a WGC invitational, it would be that he was unable to attend the Second Annual Michael Thompson Invitational which he sponsors.  It is taking place at Oro Valley Country Club back in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona and is his way of giving back to the Junior Golf Association of Arizona, which is something he participated in as a youth. Good luck to all the Thompson Invitational competitors!

Leaderboard for Michael Thompson Invitational

Thompson 'Played Really Well Today'

by Roz Roberts III

By his own account, Michael Thompson "played really well today" where he shot a one over par 71 and is currently tied for 43rd after the first two rounds of the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. The stats would seem to back up Michael's assessment. He hit 14 out of 18 greens in regulation and his driving distance was much higher than normal at 314.5 yards. The lone hole in his game today was his putting where he was -2.654 in strokes gained putting.

After his round, Michael assessed his day on Twitter: "I played really well today just couldn't get the putts to fall."

Tomorrow's third round has been pushed back a bit to avoid some expected morning thunderstorms Michael will be paired with Boo Weekly and Nick Watney for the third round. The group will tee off from the tenth hole at 11:30am ET.

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

Streaky First Round for Thompson

Michael Thompson sinks a birdie putt on hole #2 during the first round of the Bridestone Invitational

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's first round at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational was highlighted by three different streaks.  The first streak came at the early in his round when he bogeyed three out of four holes to put himself in a three over par hole.  However, just three holes after that he birdied three out four holes and found himself back to even par.  Unfortunately, after his birdie streak, his tee shot on hole #3 went left and resulted in a double bogey.  After that hole, his round entered its last streak when he parred the remaining seven holes.  At the end of the day, his two over par 72 has him tied for 41st.

Michael will once again be paired with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.  They will tee of at 12:40pm ET.

Online Links
Michael's Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Live @ Coverage