Putting the law down on career
As Andrew Thompson is finding out, golf isn’t so cushy after
college, especially if you’re aiming for the professional ranks and
realizing the extremely fine lines along the way.
Thompson, once an Estancia High standout under Coach Art Perry and
a June graduate at UC San Diego, where he played golf for four years,
has entered the post-collegiate world of reality, which can often
bite like a chip shot spinning back on the green.
A scratch golfer, Thompson made the cut at the San Diego City
Amateur Championship and finished in the top 30, and, with trying to
qualify for the 2003 Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines on the
horizon, he continues to play “a lot” of golf and doesn’t discount
the dream of playing one day for high stakes.
Still, following a successful career at NCAA Division II UCSD -- a
Division III school when Thompson started as a freshman -- he’s
keeping his options open because he’s aware of the sometimes cruel
certainties the game can bring.
“I’m taking the (Law School Admission Test) for law school next
year,” said Thompson, who played on UCSD’s Division III national
championship team his sophomore year. “I’m still based down here (in
San Diego) for golf reasons. Two jobs I have make it beneficial for
me to stay down here and practice. I’m still living with guys on the
team.”
On the golf course, Thompson is capable of going from one extreme
to another.
This year, for example, Thompson qualified for the Long Beach
Open, after shooting 1-under-par 71 at Recreation Park Golf Course in
Long Beach and earning one of six spots -- out of 160 players -- in a
one-day qualifier July 9. But then Thompson struggled in the first
round (81) and missed the cut.
In the Costa Mesa City Championships at Costa Mesa Golf & Country
Club, Thompson blitzed the Mesa Linda course in the first round,
carding a 5-under 65 to end the day one stroke off the pace. But he
fell out of contention during the second round on the Los Lagos
course.
“I’m just working on my game and trying to get more consistent,”
Thompson said. “I have no illusions. I have expectations of myself,
but I know I need to work on things. You’ve got to be realistic.
That’s why I’m going the route with the law school next fall. I’m
applying now.”
Thompson, who grew up playing at Mesa Verde Country Club on his
grandparents’ membership, is preparing these days for the Coronado
City Championships in November at Coronado Municipal Golf Course,
where Thompson won in 2000.
Mesa Verde Country Club, which is planning a grand reopening of
its renovated clubhouse in late January or early February, will host
the Southern California Mid-Amateur Championship next August (25-26).
Just in case you missed it, Arnold Palmer shot his age (73) in the
final round of last week’s Napa Valley Championship presented by
Beringer Vineyards at Silverado Country Club in Napa.
The Costa Mesa men’s club will host its 31st annual Charity Golf
Tournament Dec. 7-8 to benefit the 850 developmental disabled
residents of Fairview Development Center, adjacent to Costa Mesa Golf
& Country Club. The tournament is open to the public. The entry fee
is $70 on Saturday and $75 on Sunday, or $135 for both days. Details:
(714) 962-1403.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.