Mitch Calvert
It’s been a trying golf season for Fort Frances native Christin Thomson, but she’s beginning to see things turn around for the better.
Thomson shot a 17-over-par 233 to finish tied for 50th at the Michigan Women’s Open earlier this month—highlighted by a second-round two-over 74.
Then she carded rounds of 79 and 76 to tie for 52nd at the highly-competitive Canadian PGA Women’s Championship in Dundas, Ont.
“I think I finally felt like things were finally on the verge of getting a lot better,” Thomson said.
“I still made a fair amount of bogeys because I wasn’t that consistent yet, but for the first time in a little while I feel like my game is heading in the right direction,” she remarked.
Thomson also was able to meet with her coach, Pam Cunningham, in Michigan sandwiched between the two events, and felt the two days of one-on-one sessions were beneficial to her moving forward.
“I think up until this point this year, things I’ve been working on with my coach were a lot of big things and now we’re kind of getting into the littler things, which are a lot easier to play with on the golf course,” Thomson noted.
“We are just putting all of the pieces together and working on my swing plane,” she added. “We also worked on my putting for a bit.
“I’ve noticed in the last few months that any good round I’ve had, my putting has been a little better, and that always really helps when your ball striking isn’t always there.
“I just want to make sure I do everything right when I go to hit a shot and eventually it will become natural,” Thomson stressed.
“It’s not so overwhelming anymore.”
Despite recent improvements, Thomson has opted to skip the LPGA qualifying school this year and just work on her game away from tournament play this fall.
“I’ve pretty much made the decision that I’m going to skip Q-school this year, which had been my big goal and still is my goal, but I just don’t feel like I’m ready,” she admitted.
“It would only be a couple weeks away and it hasn’t been the greatest year, so I want to go back there when I feel 100 percent confident.
“It obviously takes a little while to ingrain things and that’s just what I’m focusing on right now,” she said.
Thomson still intends on playing a few Cactus Tour events later this season, but when she heads to Arizona will depend on a number of factors.
“I’m basically going to see how the next couple of weeks go,” she said. “My tentative plan is to just work on things this fall and if I do plan to go to an event, I’ll probably go back to Phoenix [Cactus Tour] just to stay competitive.
“I’m trying to save up some money while I’m home, that’s part of the deal, for sure, but part of it will have to do with the weather, too,” Thomson continued.
“If we get a good September up here, then that will allow me to still work on things here at home and save up some money before I go,” she reasoned.
