Keegan: Thompson can relax this round

By Tom Keegan     May 12, 2007

Recreational golfers capable of growing discouraged by watching superior players hammer balls off the tee might want to steer clear of Alvamar Public this afternoon. Thirty-two of the better players who ever called Lawrence home will be teeing off in a 1:06 shotgun start from several tees, as part of a reunion weekend for Kansas University golfers coached by Ross Randall.

For Chris Thompson, it actually will be a significant step down in competition. An All-American for Kansas in 1998 and 1999, Thompson is in his first season on the Nationwide Tour, which bills itself as the world’s second-best, though a strong argument could be made for the European Tour.

Thompson, who survived the grueling qualifying school last fall to make his first step up from the mini-tour circuit, lives in Lawrence and is home on a two-week break in the schedule. He has earned $5,762 this season and made three cuts in nine tournaments.

“I knew the competition was going to be tough,” Thompson said. “It’s even a little tougher than I expected. There is just so much depth. No weak players.”

It’s not that Thompson never faced better. As a red-shirt freshman at Kansas, he played 18 holes in a threesome with Tiger Woods in the Stanford Invitational.

“Once you play with him, you’re never in awe of anyone,” Thompson said.

Woods already was a celebrity by then. What was he like?

“I would call him friendly, but not overly friendly,” Thompson said. “He was focused. I was out there trying not to screw up and trying not to throw up on the first tee. He was out there thinking, ‘I’ve got to win this tournament over the next four and half hours.’ You knew he was going to be great. I don’t know if anyone knew he was going to be this good because everybody knows two or three can’t-miss guys who missed. He just kind of had an aura like he was better than you and he knew it. I was 19 years old from a small town (Independence) in Kansas. It was definitely an eye-opener for me. After you get over the original nervousness, it was fun just to kind of watch how he played.”

Having fun is what today will be all about for Thompson and the 31 other former KU players, many of whom flew in for the weekend. Then it’s back to work for Thompson, whose living expenses are covered by four individuals who have sponsored him in the mini-tours he has played since graduation. Once his purses exceed his living expenses, he takes 50 percent of the profits and gives the rest to sponsors, who in essence are investing in a human stock by the name of Chris Thompson.

“I need to get it going and start playing better,” Thompson said.

Others scheduled to play today in the reunion event are Dustin Anderson, Brad Barnett, Brad Bruno, Casey Brozek, Brad Davis, Kit Grove, Jay Helper, John Hess, Vance Holtzman, Chris Hutchens, Jake Istnick, Pete Krsnich, Heath Mayor, Jeff Moeller, Dan Mullen, John Newcomer, John Ogden, Jim Phillips, Andrew Price, Ryan Rainer, Chad Roesler, Conrad Roberts, Dan Rooney, Jason Seeman, Tyler Shelton, John Sinovic, Alan Stearns, Sean Thayer, Luke Trammell, and Trevor Williams.

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