Playoff Season is Upon Us

by Roz Roberts III

Thursday marks the start of the PGA Tour's Fedexcup playoff season, as the Barclays gets under way in Edison, New Jersey.  This is just the fifth year of the Fedexcup Playoffs but in that short amount of time the playoffs have started to turn doubters into believers.  Intriguing storylines, large purses at the four playoff events (the Barclays, the Deutsce Bank Championship,  the BMW Championship, and the Tour Championship) and a $10 million dollar bonus to the #1 player at the end of the Tour Championship have contributed to interest from fans and players alike.

Michael Thompson currently sits at #107 but that doesn't mean he can't be #1 at the end of the playoffs.  The points system is structured such that any of the 125 competitors in the first round could potentially claim the $10 million dollar prize.  Two years ago, Heath Slocum started the playoffs as #124 but a win at the Barclays launched him all the way up to #8.

The second event of the playoff series, the Deutsche Bank Championship, is limited to the top 100 players on the points list so all of the players currently sitting outside of the top 100 need make the cut this week or their playoff season is over.  Based on the PGA Tour's current playoff scenarios, a top 52 finish will ensure Michael's playoff push continues at least one more event.

A first round weather delay has pushed Michael's first round start time back to 4:13pm ET from the tenth hole.  He will be playing with Kevin Stadler (#105) and Chris Stroud (#106) for the first two rounds.


Video Coverage
In addition to traditional television coverage, the PGA Tour's website will be streaming live video coverage from the Barclays.

Live@ Streaming Schedule

Live@ Channel     11:00am - 6:00pm ET for all four rounds

Traditional Video Schedule:

Day    Date    Network    Time
THU    8/25    GOLF    3 - 6 PM ET
FRI    8/26    GOLF    3 - 6 PM ET
SAT    8/27    GOLF    1 - 2:30 PM ET
SAT    8/27    CBS    3 - 6 PM ET
SUN    8/28    GOLF    12 - 1:30 PM ET
SUN    8/28    CBS    2 - 6 PM ET

Expected Weather
The weather is expected to be a large part of the Barclays story as hurricane Irene is expected to slam into the eastern seaboard later this weekend.    The PGA had quietly been preparing players to stay through Tuesday as play may not be possible on Sunday or Monday.

Afternoon thunderstorms are possible on Thursday.  Weather has already caused a delay during the morning rounds of round 1.

Thursday's Forecast

Afternoon Thunder-Storms
High :  87°
Chance of Rain:  50%
Wind:  SSW at 15 mph
Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe.

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

Playoff Bound!

by Roz Roberts III

It's official!  Michael Thompson, along with 10 other rookies, has had a strong enough season to earn entry into the 2011 Fedexcup Playoffs that start next week at the Barclays!  The field was made official at the end of the Wyndham Championship this weekend.  Michael finished with a two under par 68 in the final round and finished the tournament at nine under par.  That was good enough to finish in a tie for 25th.  The solid weekend performance moved him up on the Fedexcup points list three spots to #107. 

Just getting into the playoffs gives a player a chance to move up the points list dramatically since each of the playoff events are worth 2500 points (roughly the equivalent of five regular season events).  As the Fedexcup Playoffs advance, the fields are limited to smaller and smaller fields.  The four playoff events are held in four consecutive weeks start next week with the Barclays at the Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey.


The point level cutoffs for each week of the playoffs are shown below.

Top 125: The Barclays
Top 100:  Deutsche Bank Championship
Top 70:  BMW Championship
Top 30:  TOUR Championship

Thompson Makes a Move

by Roz Roberts III

Starting Saturday's third round at the Wyndham Championship, Michael Thompson sat in a tie for 61st.  He had made the cut on the number the day before and had a bit of momentum heading into "moving day,  Riding that momentum, Michael posted a four under par 66 which moved him up the leaderboard 31 spots into a tie for 30th.

For the third straight round he finished his round with a birdie on his last hole of the day.  The big difference on Saturday was that the final birdie on hole #18 was the third birdie he had made in the last four holes.  For the round, Michael had five birdies against a single bogey and is now seven under par for the tournament.

Michael's final round gets under way at 11:49am ET.  He will be paired with Alexandre Rocha.

Expected Weather for Sunday's Fourth Round
Afternoon Thunderstorms
High: 88°
Chance of Rain: 60%
Wind: SSW at 11 mph

Partly cloudy early. Scattered thunderstorms developing in the afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 88°F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Television Schedule

GOLF 1p - 2:30p ET

CBS 3p - 6p ET

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

Late Birdie Leads to Some "Friday Fist Pumping"

by Roz Roberts III

It came down to the final shot of the round.  Michael Thompson was sitting over a 12 foot birdie putt and sat one shot outside the cut line at the Wyndham Championship.  For Michael, the stakes were high:  make the putt and play the weekend for a paycheck and all but guarantee a spot in next week's Barclays - the first event in the Fedexcup Playoffs; miss the putt and spend the weekend at home, watching the tournament on TV, and hoping his accumulated Fedexcup points were enough to keep him in the top 125 in order to play next week.

Michael drained the putt and threw a couple of fist pumps.  After the round, Michael said "I fought hard today and it paid off. (I) made a great birdie on my last hole to make the cut on the number! Huge! Excited to play tomorrow..."

The day didn't get off to a good start.  A double bogey on his first hole (hole #10) put Michael in serious jeopardy of missing the cut early and it got worse with a bogey on hole #14.  Scores all day had been low and the cut line looked to be set fairly solidly at -2.  Michael started the day at -2 and after his first five holes, he was three shots off the cut.  Michael rallied with birdies on four of the next seven holes moved him a shot inside the cut line.  However, a bogey at hole #5 left him needing one more birdie with four holes to go.  Three consecutive pars left Michael one final hole and he was one shot short of the cut.  A solid drive and good approach left him with the aforementioned 12 foot putt.

Since Michael just made the cut and he had an afternoon tee time on Friday,  he'll have a nice early tee time on Saturday.  He'll be teeing off at 8:39am ET with Briny Baird.

Expected Weather for Saturday's Third Round

High: 91°
Chance of Rain: 30%
Wind: ENE at 4 mph

Isolated thunderstorms in the morning, becoming mostly sunny late. High 91F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.

Television Schedule

Sat, 8/20: CBS 3p - 6p ET

Sun, 8/21: CBS 3p - 6p ET

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

Bogey Free Round Has Thompson Tied for 40th

by Roz Roberts III

Michael Thompson had a bogey free round of two under par during the first round of the Wyndham Championship on Thursday.  The two under par 68 put Michael into a tie for 40th heading into Friday's second round.  Michael's round was characterized by 16 pars including 12 in a row before a birdie at the difficult eighteenth ended both his par streak and his round on a positive note.

Michael's second round gets underway at 1:10pm ET when he tees off from the tenth hole with playing partners Chad Campbell (-2) and Brendon de Jonge (-1).

Expected Weather for Round 2
 





High: 88°
Chance of Rain: 30%
Wind: W at 5 mph

Partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible.
High 88F.
Winds light and variable.
Chance of rain 30%.


Television Schedule

Fri, 8/19: GOLF 3p - 6p ET

Sat, 8/20: CBS 3p - 6p ET

Sun, 8/21: CBS 3p - 6p ET

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