Michael Thompson’s amazing shot at the 3M Open: ‘I love bunkers’

Holding a late lead and staring at a long bunker shot, Michael Thompson clutched up and delivered, just when he needed it most at the 3M Open.

Down the stretch at the 3M Open on Sunday, Michael Thompson was holding on to a slim lead but found himself in a bunker on the 16th hole, a long way from the hole.

Not an easy shot by any means but it was no problem from Thompson, who blasted out from 37 yards and parked his ball to about two-and-a-half feet away. He made the birdie putt and then calmly birdied the 18th hole for a two-shot win, his first on the PGA Tour in seven years.

Thompson was no doubt ready for the moment.

“I love bunkers. That was the one thing I did when I was a kid after I got home from school was I would go sit in a bunker for a couple hours and just hit bunker shots,” Thompson said after his round on Sunday. “So I have really good feel in the bunker and good visual for how I want the shot to come off, and for that to happen on the 70th hole, you know, potentially give me a one-shot lead if I make birdie there, it was perfect timing.”

Perfect timing indeed.

Thompson was born in Tucson, Arizona, and while in junior high school, he found an affinity for the sand at a new neighborhood course.

“It was at 49ers Country Club. … My parents moved us out there around 8th grade and I would come home from school and just practice for five hours until it was dark,” he said. “I used to walk to the golf course and then go hit a few balls, but then go putt and hit bunker shots. That was kind of my favorite thing to do. So when I got in that bunker I was nervous, but at the same time I knew the shot that I had to hit and I relied on a lot of those memories for just being in the bunker for hours and hours on end in high school.”

Thompson helped Tucson’s Rincon/University claim the 2002 Class 4A state championship before heading off to Tulane for two years. He would finish his college career at Alabama and remains a die-hard Crimson Tide fan.

3M Open: Leaderboard | Money list | Best photos | Winner’s bag

For viewers who stuck around after the tournament ended were treated to a fantastic interview with Amanda Balionis of CBS, in which an emotional Thompson opened up about his family and what this win means for him, his wife and their two adopted children.

It’s full steam ahead for Thompson, who’s now in the field for this week’s WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational. He also also earned invites into next week’s PGA Championship, the U.S. Open in September,  the 2021 Players Championship and the 2021 Masters.

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