Thompson Named the #4 "Leading Sports Figure" in Southern AZ

The positive press keeps coming in as the year draws to a close. The latest article of interest comes from Greg Hansen at the Arizona Daily Star.

Michael, if you are reading this post - it is now time to stop. We don't want your head getting too big! For the rest of you, please continue...

In his annual list of "the Top 100 Leading Sports Figures in Southern Arizona", Michael Thompson finished in the #4 spot. Here's a brief excerpt:

"4. Michael Thompson. A Rincon/University grad, Thompson was the Hooters Tour Player of the Year, then trumped that by finishing tied for 16th at PGA Qualifying School, becoming fully exempt for the 2011 PGA Tour."

The whole article can be found over a the Arizona Daily Star website here: Greg Hansen's 2010 List of the Top 100 Leasing Sports Figures in Southern Arizona.

Michael Gets Another Mention

Michael continues to get mentioned here and there when talking about the young guns on the PGA Tour.  Today he was mentioned in an article over at golfinquirer.com:

"Michael Thompson:

Another young prodigy is American Michael Thompson. The 25-year-old golfer graduated from Q-School and grabbed an impressive 16th place at the leaderboard. The golfer has two professional wins so far and is currently on the PGA Tour as well. Although young, Thompson stood as a finalist at the 2007 US Amateur. He also won Hooter Tour Player of the Year 2010 and managed 5 top-ten finishes from 17 starts. Considering the 25-year-old’s recent record, it is easy to predict his future strategy would be only winning."

You can read the rest of the article over at golfinquirer.com: Players Aiming For Their First Tour Victory in 2011.

2011 Fantasy Golf Cheat Sheet

Rob Bolton of PGATour.com came out with a list today of all 250 PGA Tour pros and ranked them 1-250 for fantasy golf fans.  Michael Thompson came out as number 112 on his list.

"112. Michael Thompson - Rookie. If you read my projections of the q-school grads, then you know that I'm all in on this guy."

In a funny coincidence and/or serendipity, he was ranked one below Colt Knost.  Knost beat Michael in the finals of the 2007 US Amateur.  It will be interesting to see how their two careers turn out after battling it out a few years ago as amateurs.

See the entire rankings over at PGATour.com: 2011 Fantasy Golf Cheat Sheet: Ranking Every Tour Pro 

Thompson Named One of Golf's Top Ten "Potentential Breakthrough Stars of 2011"

In case you missed it, there was a nice article over at CNN.com this morning naming their top ten potential breakthrough stars of 2011. We weren't surprised to see Michael Thompson top the list. Here are a few excerpts:

Who will be golf's new stars in 2011?

By Will Tidey, for CNN

December 21, 2010 -- Updated 1437 GMT (2237 HKT)

(CNN) -- Who will be the new Matteo Manassero next year -- and which young golfers will struggle to build on their undoubted talent, as the highly-rated Danny Lee did in 2010?

With that disclaimer in place, CNN highlights golf's potential breakthrough stars of 2011, looking at the top-10 young men and women from the amateur and professional ranks.

PGA TOUR ROOKIES TO WATCH

Michael Thompson (United States)

The 25-year-old Thompson secured his PGA Tour card in some style, eagling the penultimate hole at qualifying school to book his spot next season.

"I wasn't quite expecting this," he told The Golf Channel after his final round.

"I was gearing my mind up to getting on the Nationwide Tour. I've always been a player to take slow steady steps ... but man, I can't wait for next year. It's been my dream since I was seven years old to play on the PGA Tour."

The two-time Arizona State High School Player of the Year (2002, 2003) was a finalist at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championships and finished leading amateur at the 2008 U.S. Open.

In 2010 he was the leading money winner on the developmental Hooters Tour, where he won once and collected six top-10 finishes in total.

The whole article can be found over at CNN.com here: Who will be golf's new stars in 2011?

And just for the record, "yes" - the original article does actually link to our posted YouTube video (we didn't add it)!

Video - "Roll Tide"

So this little post has nothing to do with Michael Thompson. It does, however, feature 'Bama Nation and since Michael is a UA alum and our little blog here pays homage to the Crimson Tide both in name and color palette I thought those of you not watching ESPN might enjoy this. It might also give some insight into why all those people on the golf course are yelling "Roll Tide" at Michael.