Torrey Pines Tidbit of the Day

by Roz Roberts III

Due to a two an a half hour fog delay earlier in the day, Michael Thompson and his group were 16 holes through their round when it really started to get dark.  Late afternoon fog wasn't helping either.  They played the short par three 17th hole and quickly moved to the 18th hole tee box.

A course official came up to Michael and his group (J.B Holmes and John Merrick) and asked them if they wanted to start the 18th before he blew the horn signaling the halting of play for darkness.  All three players indicated they wanted to finish.

Since Michael had just birdied the 17th hole he had the honor of teeing off.  He hit his tee shot and then the official blew the horn.  Since a member of the group had hit their tee shot, the entire group had the option of finishing play on that hole which is exactly what they did.

In very low light, all three players went on to birdie the par five 18th and finish their rounds.   A nice win-win to end the day.

Thompson Tears Up Torrey Pines North

Michael Thompson hits his tee shot from the second tee during round one of the Farmers Insurance Open on the North Course at Torrey Pines.

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson's first competitive round at Torrey Pines in a while was very successful.  The day started off slowly with two fog delays which moved his first round tee time at the Farmers Insurance Open by two and a half hours.  Despite the delay, Michael started fast out of the gate making birdies on his first two holes on the Torrey Pines North Course.

Michael jumped out to a fast start making birdies at the first two holes.

Over the course of the day, he poured in eight birdies and had decent birdie opportunities on all but three or four holes.  He shot seven under par which has him in second place with roughly 40 golfers still on the course needing to finish their first rounds.

Michael's tee shot on hole #5.

Despite scoring well, Michael's driver was slightly off, especially early in the day.  He didn't hit a fairway until the fifth hole but he was often just feet off the fairway.  His approaches out of the rough were superb all day and missed fairways didn't cost him at all.  In fact, his lone bogey came when a short par putt lipped out on the par three third hole.   As the day wore one, his driver started to find the fairways more regularly.

 

Michael and caddie Matt Hughes contemplate the second shot on hole #8.

He putted solidly all day and dropped lengthy birdie putts on hole 5 (~12 feet) and 17 (~20 feet).  The Poa Annua greens got more and more bumpy as the day went on as the grass grew but the difficult conditions didn't appear to bother Michael.

Michael's approach shot on hole #9 landed 6 inches from the hole setting up a tap in birdie.

Michael hits his tee shot on hole #15

Michael will be playing the South Course at Torrey Pines for Friday's second round.  He will once again be paired with John Merrick and J.B. Holmes.  They are scheduled to tee off from the tenth hole at 9am PT but fog delays remain a possibility.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker (no Shot Tracker Data Available from the North Course)
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker
Live@ Streaming from the 13th and 16th Holes

Thompson Back at Torrey Pines for Farmers Insurance Open

by Roz Roberts III.

It's been a couple of years since Michael Thompson has competed at Torrey Pines but he is back in San Diego for this year's Farmers Insurance Open.  He got a light bit of practice Wednesday in preparation for Thursday's first round.

Michael will tee off from hole #1 of the North Course with John Merrick and J.B. Holmes on Thursday at 10:30am PT.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael Scorecard
Michael on Shot Tracker (no Shot Tracker Data Available from the North Course)
Michael's Group on Shot Tracker

WMPO Wraps Up Super Bowl Sunday

Michael Thompson watches his birdie putt on hole #16 during round three of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Micahel Thompson will be playing in the Waste Management Phoenix Open's final round today.  He is currently tied for 59th at even par.

He is paired with Nick Taylor and Ricky Barnes.  They tee off from the tenth hole at 10:15am local Phoenix time.

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

Live@ Streaming

Rough Start but Cut Made

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson opened his second round with three straight bogeys and then held on to finish his second round with a four over par 75 in difficult rainy conditions at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.  It was enough to make the cut so he'll play the weekend.

He is paired with Nick Taylor and Kevin Na in the third round.  They tee off at 10:00am local Phoenix time.

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

Live@ Streaming