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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 11, 2008Michael ThompsonAUGUSTA, GEORGIA Q. Talk about what happened at 15. MICHAEL THOMPSON: It really turned my round, turned the momentum against me. It was very unfortunate, but I'm sure it's happened many a time before here. These greens are super-fast. Q. What was said by Ben? What did you say? What did Ben say? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Well, I said, "My ball moved," and Ben said, "Are you sure?" And then he asked me if I had grounded my club, and I did. And then the rules official came over and was debating whether I had grounded my club before it started moving or after. I did ground my club. I think the ball started and moved before, and it was in the process of moving as I put my club down and then just moved a whole bunch. It was just like, okay. Nothing you can do about it. Q. And you just said, "It moved a little"? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Well, I lined the Titleist up with my line, and the Titleist was facing -- was parallel with the ground. It clearly moved, and I cleared put my club down. It's just something that happened. You can't get away from it, and it's just unfortunate. I'm sorry it happened here, but it's not going to be the last time it happens to me. Q. When was the last time it happened to you? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Oh, man. The most memorable one that happened to me was in high school, and it happened to me and I called it on myself. Nobody else saw it. I called a penalty on myself, and that's something you've got to do. It's part of the game. Q. Why is it golf is considered a sport of honor? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Well, I mean, that's just the part that brings out the best in people and also brings out the worst when people don't obey the rules. It's just a part of any game. You've got to follow the rules, especially out here in front of all these people. I don't want to create a bad image about myself, and that's just something that you just have to do. You just have to follow the rules. It doesn't matter how you're playing or what's going on. It just happens. Q. Have you ever played with anybody that didn't call something like that on themselves? MICHAEL THOMPSON: A couple times. It upsets me when people don't do that, and I'm sure it upsets a lot of other people, but I'm not one of those people. Q. Do you think you should be lauded at all for calling it on yourself? MICHAEL THOMPSON: No. I mean, I'm an equal to everyone out here playing. You've got to -- this is a course you've got to play well, you've got to hit golf shots, and I just didn't hit enough today. Well, I hit too many today (laughing). Q. Whatever happened on 15, did that affect you the rest of the day? MICHAEL THOMPSON: You know, it kind of did. I felt like I hit a really good shot into 15. I had a tough putt, though, and I felt like I could give it a good run, and if I made one there then I would get the momentum back my way, and then unfortunately the ball moved, and it kind of disappointed me a little bit, that that would happen at that time. Q. Did it affect you on 16 and 17? MICHAEL THOMPSON: 16, no, I just swung too hard. I had the right club and just swung too hard. I had forgotten about it by 16. Q. Were you aware that Bobby Jones once called a penalty on himself? MICHAEL THOMPSON: I'm sure everyone has called a penalty on themselves. Q. His was a famous quote, "You may as well praise a man for not robbing a bank." MICHAEL THOMPSON: Yeah, I don't know, this game, you just have to follow the rules, and the best players do that. Stewart Cink disqualified himself, and it's just something that happens. It doesn't happen often, but it just happens. Q. I know you say it was out of your mind by 16, but it's really hard to believe that it's totally out of your mind. MICHAEL THOMPSON: Well, there was no momentum with me. I had it completely out of my mind, and I was just focused on that one shot because I knew if I hit a good shot I'd probably try to get a birdie and try to get things going my way again. Unfortunately I didn't, and I played that hole pretty well for the situation I was in, but, you know -- Q. How big a goal was it to make the cut here? MICHAEL THOMPSON: It would have been a big goal. I really felt good going into today, and then after the first two holes I felt like I was playing great and still had things going my way. But I just -- as the round went on, I started to get some unlucky breaks here and there, and just couldn't get anything going. You know, that's a part of the game. I'm going to be playing next week at SECs and I'm looking forward to that already. I'm going to try to redeem myself from this week and just continue on. Q. When something happens here, obviously it's always magnified. Do you think in ten years you'll -- will this be haunting you in ten years? MICHAEL THOMPSON: No, the things that I'm going to remember from this week are going to be my birdie on 9 the first day, and then that last putt right there. I mean, those things are the fun -- that's what's fun about being here is hitting great shots and hearing the crowd roar because I don't experience that in college and I don't experience that -- didn't experience that a whole lot in amateur golf. It's just really fun. Q. So in your mind if people make you out to be some exemplary model of decorum for this, it's overblown? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Yeah, a little bit. I'm glad I'm creating that image for myself because that's the person I am. I'm very honest and trustworthy. I don't like to upset anybody. It's just something that I want to -- something I do for myself. I don't want to cheat. That's not my goal when I come out here. Q. So SEC golf is a little bit more honorable than SEC football (laughter)? MICHAEL THOMPSON: I wouldn't know that. I wouldn't have any answer to that. Q. Was there anything after -- did Ben say anything to you afterwards up to in the scoring trailer that resonated with you? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Yeah, throughout the last couple days he's told me that he really loves my game, and hearing that from a guy like him is something really special. In the trailer he said, "We're going to see you again," and, "I'll be following you; you're going to be great." That's really cool to hear it from a big-time guy like him, and I look forward to hopefully playing with him again and seeing him. I'm going to come away with more confidence than I will disappointment. Q. Did you feel like prior to obviously the ball moving, okay, I can still make the cut, that you had a couple more holes here? Obviously you still had some work to do, but -- MICHAEL THOMPSON: Yeah, I felt like if I could hit some good shots. The course was playing really hard towards the end. I kind of in a way got a little unlucky with the tee time draw being early morning yesterday. I mean, that wasn't bad, but afternoon today was kind of tough with the wind and everything coming up and the greens firming up. The guys who played early had the greens a little bit softer. They could shoot at more pins. Like on 17 I hit a great shot in there and it kicked all the way to the back of the green. And then same on 18, I pulled it a little bit, but it shouldn't go all the way back there normally. Q. You mentioned an unlucky break on No. 5, you lip out for birdie and it goes by and you miss it coming back? MICHAEL THOMPSON: Yeah, right. Q. And I mean, is that when you start having -- MICHAEL THOMPSON: Yeah, a little bit. I felt like I was playing really well all the way through there, and then even through 6, I hit a poor tee shot there, but I got up-and-down from over there on the left, which I thought was awesome. But I just couldn't get anything going. I finally got into a little groove hitting golf shots right around 8 and 9, started at least getting it off the tee and putting myself in position. Another unlucky break was 9, I landed it right into that hill and it kicked over the green. Just stuff like that that happens, but it's unfortunate that it happened for me this week because I really wanted to stay for the weekend. End of FastScripts |
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