Giants at The Open

This week, Thomson fulfilled his childhood dream – the oldest major competition organized by Royal & Ancient since 1860. In the first time he attended The Open, the native golfer exceeded personal expectations – he scored -2 ​​on the par70 course. while the cut line is +1 type. Thomson won tickets to the weekend with a hole-in-one on the 16th hole, the birdie on the penultimate hole and the last par, on July 16.

On the ace, Thomson locked on target 149 yards. The ball hit the green and then into the hole after a few bounces.

Thomson is standing at T53 with a +1 score of 73 strokes in the penultimate stage yesterday, June 17. With Louis Oosthuizen at the top of the table to 13 strokes and 18 holes left, he considered the end of the competition for the title. But for Thomson, getting into The Open is great. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of playing The Open. Now I’m satisfied, I’ve scored a hole-in-one, gone through the cut. It’s amazing,” said Thomson after the “one-stroke hole”.

Battlefield test Royal St. George’s, Thomson interacted with Bryson DeChambeau – the major champion US Open 2020. Standing next to Thomson in the souvenir photo, DeChambeau, 1.85 tall and weighing nearly 107 kg, became “small”.

Thomson was born in 1996, turned professional at the age of 20. Above post Daily Mail in 2017 said he weighed 124 kg – the only information on weight. And the European Tour recorded Thomson 2.07 meters tall from 2018 – the time when he was at the same time as the tallest member. However, he only lasted one season and then returned to the second-place Challenge Tour arena so far.

Thomson entered The Open 2021 through a 36-hole selection round, at the time he had been eliminated from six tournaments five times and ranked 889th in the world (OWGR table).

With oversized height, the club for Thomson is 6.35 cm longer than the popular size. “Finding playing equipment is a big challenge. The club I use probably touches the maximum standard in golf rules,” Thomson said. Golf Digest. With a 7 iron, Thomson hit the ball 195 yards before hitting the ground. Swinging the driver – a dedicated golf club, this golfer easily reaches clubhead speeds of over 200 km/h.

Before the peak of golf, Thomson had to fight with a serious illness from a young age.

At the age of seven, Thomson lost weight ominously, so his parents took him to the hospital to diagnose. After a series of tests on Wednesday, they got the results on Friday – Thomson has leukemia. On the same day, “baby Thomson” entered the treatment course, because this disease could not wait.

“I asked, ‘So I’m going to die, Dad’. For parents, it’s a difficult question. But my parents are still strong and optimistic. They say ‘Oh no, we’ll get treatment, it’s been a long time.’ . But we have the doctors at Sheffield Children’s Hospital to help. We can make it through, son,'” Thomson said.

Special drugs, chemotherapy sessions destroyed Thomson’s immune system. After four years of regular hospitalization, his condition was in remission. Thomson took another year to recover. “By the age of 13, my immune system was almost nonexistent. Eating and living was like a child. When I was sick, I couldn’t play high-impact sports, so golf became the only option. And I love this sport,” he said.

Thomson started playing golf in 2016, after seven years of acquaintance and striving. Half a decade later, The Open’s dream comes true. “I’ve been dreaming of this prestigious event since I was in hospital. I kept thinking ‘I’m going to fight The Open someday’. Now it’s okay. It’s hard to put into words. My number one goal. This week is about enjoying the oldest major experience.”

Quoc Huy