Dream-Instilled Thompson On Cusp Of Reality

By Ken Klavon, USGA

San Francisco – Michael Thompson took his hat off, zipped his bag and looked around. He had just eliminated Casey Clendenon, 3 and 2, Saturday, and seemed disoriented after moving onto Sunday’s 36-hole final against Colt Knost.

Suddenly his gaze felt real, as though he did something special. Then, walking off the 16^th green, his parents intercepted him. His father, Mike Thompson, embraced his son for close to 10 seconds, whispering the kind of words that validates any child’s worth. "I told him it’s an honor to have you as our son," said Mike, 61.

Crucial make: Michael Thompson exhibits a fist pump after draining a 12-foot putt to halve the sixth hole Saturday. (John Mummert/USGA)

"He surpassed any expectations we had of him. To bring us along for this ride is truly an honor."

Likewise, the demure Thompson is proud of himself and he should be. The U.S. Amateur is arguably one of the most taxing sporting competitions to win. Gruel through two laborious stroke play rounds, then be better than anyone else for six rounds of match play. Its an abundance of golf in a one-week stretch that could send anyone to a respite on a psychologist’s couch afterward.

Asked whether he has surprised himself this week, the University of Alabama senior – displaced from Tulane by Hurricane Katrina – didn’t pause.

"I never imagined I could get this far," he said in a hushed tone off No. 16 after everyone left. "The stamina, staying patient in this is so hard to do. … These tournaments are an endurance test."

Remaining calm hasn’t exactly been the Thompsons’ forte. Susie Meyers, Thompson’s swing coach for eight years, has been something of a soothing voice during the heat of the matches.

"I’ll put it this way," said Thompson’s dad. "I asked to see if there was a doctor nearby so they could Fed-Ex a pacemaker in."

Thompson took up the game after his mom, a ninth-grade English teacher at Sabino High School in Tucson, Ariz., drove him to a golf clinic when he was 7. Thompson immediately fell in love. As his talent evolved, the parents decided to put him in touch with Meyers when he was 14. Beth was so smitten by Meyers that she brought along his science fair projects, thinking his creativity and intelligence might make Meyers want to work with her son more. The two women laughed at the recollection.

The effort obviously was unnecessary.

"I knew when he stepped on the tee, I just knew he’d be something special," said Meyers, who teaches out of Ventana Canyon just outside of Tuczon.

Meyers worked with Thompson on the psychological part of the game as well. Unlike an untrained thoroughbred, he needed little coaxing or prodding. More important, his composed demeanor has benefited his growth. It came in handy against Clendenon. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Thompson said he wasn’t nervous at all during the match. During his quarterfinal duel against Derek Fathauer, Thompson had a difficult time staying unruffled until he grabbed the lead.

Winning the first hole Saturday with a birdie probably helped. "I knew if I could get up early, I could maintain it," said Thompson.

By the fifth hole, he increased his margin to 3 up. If the 23-year-old Clendenon, a senior at Lamar University, had a chance to make a move, it came on the next hole. A jack-hammer trying to crack Thompson’s foundation, Clendenon finessed his approach shot tight from 160 yards out. The ball stopped a foot away from the flagstick, looking as though he’d win this one. Thompson, though, answered with an uphill 12-footer that broke two balls right for a birdie and a halve. Clendenon turned quickly and headed to No. 7.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, that got to him a little bit," said Thompson.

From there, neither applied much pressure. Thompson had a comfortable lead, 3 up, when he won the 13^th. Clendenon short-sided himself on his approach shot, leading to a failed up and down from the left greenside rough.

Clendenon had opportunities to capitalize because Thompson had an abysmal time finding the fairway, at one point going seven holes before locating another one on No. 14. On the flip side, though, Clendenon struggled to get on greens (half of them), essentially his downfall.

"I wouldn’t say pressure," said Clendenon when asked if he felt panicked being down the entire match. "I knew I would have to stay focused to get back in it."

Inevitably it was too late for Clendenon. Thompson, the second team All-American, would be moving on to Sunday. The grind of the week has made Thompson appreciate Tiger Woods’ feat of winning three consecutive Amateurs that much more, he said. That said, any self doubts have been erased even if Thompson never imagined he’d get this far.

Credit his parents. They were the architects. They planted an encouraging seed when he was younger.

"We raised our kids to have a dream, and that dream also became our dream," said dad of their four kids. "So we would say, ‘Let’s talk about what it takes to get there and things you can do.’"

Now that he’s there, on the precipice of a dream come true, it’s up to Thompson to walk ahead alone and realize it.

Ken Klavon is the USGA’s Web Editor. E-Mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.