Published: June 12, 2007 11:52 pm      

Thompson earns spot in U.S. Senior Open

Huntsville golf pro shoots sizzling 66 at qualifier in Houston

Huntsville golf pro Robert Thompson was starting to get frustrated.

Several times since turning 50 earlier this year Thompson tried to qualify for a Champions Tour event, and several times he barely missed.

A bogey here, and a missed putt there kept him from playing on the weekend with the likes of Tom Kite, Jay Haas, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin and Ben Crenshaw.

That all changed Monday when Thompson fired a 6-under-par 66 at Houston’s Lakeside Country Club. Thompson’s first-place finish at this week’s qualifier earned him a spot in next month’s U.S. Senior Open at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis.

“I made most of the putts I should have made,” Thompson said Tuesday. “I birdied three of the par-5 holes and three par 4’s. I made no bogeys, and that was a bonus.

“I drove the ball really well. That’s a tight, tree-lined golf course, and I positioned myself well all day off the tee. ... A couple of times when I missed the fairway, I made good recoveries. Everything went well the whole round.”

Thompson’s wife Chris, who works in the athletics department at Sam Houston State, caddied for the Whistling Pines pro Monday.

“She’s excited to be back on the bag,” Robert said.

Thompson said he’s looking forward to tackling the Pete Dye-designed, links-style Straits course that sits on the Lake Michigan shoreline. He played there at the 2004 PGA Championship, shooting rounds of 77 and 79 and missing the cut. Back in 1999, he played in the PGA Club Professional Championship at Whistling Straits.

“I hope they shorten up the course some. They stretched it out to about 7,500 yards for the PGA (in 2004),” Thompson said. “I’m sure they’ll let up on the old guys a little bit.

“I shot in the mid- to high-70s. Hopefully, I haven’t played my best golf there yet.”

Before he gets to the Senior Open, Thompson will try two more times to earn a spot in a Champions Tour event. He’s heading to Boston later this week to play in a qualifier Tuesday for the Bank of America Championship.

After Boston, Thompson and his family are heading to New York where the Champions Tour sets up shop at the Red Course at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow on the last weekend of the month.

“It would be nice to get on a roll and do some good before the Senior Open,” Thompson said.