Torrey South Is An Exercise in Patience

Michael's office was pretty spectacular today.  Torrey Pines South Course hole #4.

by Roz Roberts III

The South Course at Torrey Pines is a beast.  There's no two ways about it.  It's long.  Really long.  And to make things even worse, today's soft conditions didn't provide any roll on the fairways which made it play even longer.

Michael Thompson and his group played in one of the last groups off the first tee and they played through the windiest part of the day and had to deal with bumpy, crusty greens.  Despite all of the difficulties Michael managed to shoot one under par and played great all day.  

To put Michael's round into perspective, he scored better than all three off the players in the group in front of him:  Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, and Tiger Woods.  Everyone was missing short putts as the greens were rolling so erratically and the ball was bouncing and veering all over the place.  The difficulties meant that you had to stay patient and just roll with the punches.

Tomorrow's round is expected to play even tougher as the wind will be gusting up to 40mph.  Michael and his playing partners Jon Curran and Morgan Hoffman will be playing the North Course tomorrow at 9:40am PT.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard


Pictures From Round One

Michael Thompson drains his birdie putt on hole #6 on the South Course at Torrey Pines.

Michael Thompson signs autographs after round one at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Torrey Awaits

by Roz Roberts III

After a soggy week in Palm Desert, the sun will be shining this week on Michael Thompson and the rest of the PGA Tour as they compete in the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.  The weather should provide beautiful vistas of the California coast with plenty of sunshine.  The only weather concern will come on Friday when it is expected to be windy.

The Farmers will utilize both the North and South courses at Torrey Pines.  The South course is the more difficult of the two courses although recent changes on the North course have lengthened it.  The South course wass the highest scoring par 72 course on Tour last year.  It's narrow fairways, length, and long rough always provide a difficult test.

Michael will tee off at 10:50am PT from the first hole of the South course on Thursday.   He will be playing with Morgan Hoffman and Jon Curran.  They tee off intermediately after the featured group of Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, and Tiger Woods.

It should be an interesting exercise in patience as I follow Michael and his group while trying to navigate the crowds.  I will try to provide some live Tweets from the course.  The South course will have ShotLink coverage so you should be able to follow the leaderboard too.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

West Coast Swing Starts in Sunny(?) California

Michael Thompson plays his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 13, 2017 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Source: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images North America)

by Roz Roberts III


The PGA Tour has moved on from Hawaii and will start the West Coast Swing this week near Palm Springs, California at the CareerBuilder Challenge.  Typically, the Tour can expect mild weather and clear skies at the CareerBuilder but this week will be anything but.  Southern California will be experiencing a multi day storm which should arrive tomorrow.  Conditions should be wet.  Californians all know we could use the rain but typically golf tournaments and rain don't mix well.  The CareerBuilder is also a Pro-Am which results in longer rounds by its very nature.  Once you add some rain into the mix, rounds could last a while.

The CareerBuilder will be held across three Palm Desert courses but ShotLink data will only be available from the PGA West Stadium Course so following Michael on the La Quinta and Niclaus Tournament courses will be an exercise in patience.

Barring any weather delays, Michael gets his first round started on Thursday from the tenth hole at the La Quinta course at 9:30am PT.  He will be in a foursome with Scott Brown and two amateurs.  Hopefully any delays will be kept to a minimum.


Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Bogey Free Round Ends with a Bang!

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson had a beautiful first round at the Sony Open today.  Not only did he go bogey-free for the day, but he carded an eagle on his final hole of the day to finish with a 5 under par (65). He also finished the day tied for 12th.

Michael didn't hit as many fairways as he would have liked (7/14) but he managed to recover time and again and hit 16 out of 18 greens in regulation which kept him out of trouble and presented plenty of scoring opportunities.

Michael will once again be playing with Marc Leishman and Hudson Swafford for round two.  They will tee off tomorrow from the first hole at 7:20am local time (9:20am PT).

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard

Aloha 2017!

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson will be making his 2017 PGA Tour debut tomorrow in Honolulu at the Sony Open in Hawaii.  This will be the first event in a busy West Coast Swing for Michael that will unfold over the next couple of months.  The Sony Open is known for its narrow fairways, warm trade winds, and scenic views of the Pacific Ocean.

Michael will be teeing off from the tenth hole at noon local Hawaii time (2pm PT) with Marc Leishman and Hudson Swafford.

Online Links
Leaderboard
Michael's Scorecard