Former Kansas standout golfer Chris Thompson turned in the best four-round finish of his rookie season on the PGA Tour north of the border this weekend in Ontario, Canada.
Thompson, 42, fired a 5-under for the tournament and finished in a four-way tie for 31st place at the RBC Canadian Open.
It marked the fourth time this season — in 12 events — that Thompson made the cut, which allowed him to play four full rounds with some of the best golfers in the world.
The Independence native, who, 19 years after turning pro, earned his PGA Tour card for the 2018-19 season last August after finishing among the top 25 golfers on the Web.com Tour money list, finished 14 spots higher than his previous best finish as a PGA pro. That came when he tied for 45th at the Sanderson Farms Championship last October.
In Canada, Thompson was tracking toward his first Top 40 finish from the beginning.
His best round of the week came Friday, when he shot a 4-under 66, tying eventual champion Rory McIlroy (-22) that day.
He bookended his career round with 1-under 69s on Thursday and Sunday and shot a 1-over 71 on Saturday.
Thompson’s strong showing netted him $46,075, roughly $12,000 more than the nine golfers who finished in a tie for 35th just one stroke behind him.
So far this season, the former Jayhawk now has banked $81,635 in 12 events.
Fellow KU PGA pro Gary Woodland did not play in the Canadian Open.
Next up on the PGA Tour is the U.S. Open, Thursday through Sunday, at famed Pebble Beach.
Woodland is expected to be in the field and Thompson narrowly missed out on qualifying for the third of golf’s four majors.
