Michael Thompson watches his tee shot on the 15 tee during the first round of the Quicken Loans National golf tournament at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Va., Thursday, July 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Rincon/University High School grad Michael Thompson will return to the PGA Tour full time in 2016-17 after winning the Albertson’s Boise Open, part of the Web.com Tour’s playoff system last week. Thompson shot finishing rounds of 64-64 and was 23-under par. After Thompson’s breakthrough win at the 2013 Honda Classic, he struggled. So he changed almost everything. He hired a new swing instructor from South Carolina, hired a fitness trainer and a sports psychologist. He signed an apparel deal with Fairway Greene and Black Clover USA. At 31, he and his wife Rachel are in the process of adopting a baby. Thompson reminds me a lot of Don Pooley, a UA grad who won twice on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour: a gentleman who is one of the top putters in the world and goes about business the right way.


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Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at 520-573-4145 or ghansen@tucson.com. On Twitter @ghansen711