University of Georgia Athletics
Quick Chat: Davis Thompson
May 22, 2019 | Men's Golf, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
With rounds of 69, 69 and 67, Georgia sophomore Davis Thompson finished atop the individual leaderboard last week during the NCAA Athens Regional at the UGA Golf Course. It was the first collegiate win for the Bulldog from Auburn, Ala., whose father, Todd, played for Georgia in the 1980s.
Led by Thompson and junior Spencer Ralston, who finished three strokes back of his teammate, the Bulldogs won the regional and this week are in Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Championships, which begin Friday at The Blessings. During a phone interview Tuesday, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Thompson talked about his big win, his basketball days, what he eats on the course and much more.
Here's some of what he had to say:Â
Frierson: What did it feel like for your first collegiate victory to be at the NCAA regional last week? It's one thing to win a regular-season tournament but it seems like something else to win a postseason event. Â Â
Thompson: It was just really cool to see the team play well and I've been close before to winning a golf tournament, but this is my first collegiate victory. It felt nice to see all the hard work I've put in pay off.
Frierson: With three rounds in the 60s, was there one thing in particular that you did better than you have been doing?
Thompson: I was just dialed in with my driver. I hit a lot of fairways and I was able to just attack the flags from the fairway, and I was able to roll in a few putts. I think it all started off the tee; I just hit a lot of fairways this week.
Frierson: I know you grew up with golf, with your dad having played here, but did you play any other sports?
Thompson: I played basketball throughout high school, won a state championship (at Lee-Scott Academy) in basketball, which was fun, and then I played football until I was probably 12 or 13. I gave that up to focus on basketball and golf.
Frierson: Tell me about you as a basketball player, were you a point guard?
Thompson: I played shooting guard; I just shot a lot of 3s and played hard defense, that was my role. I was a pretty good 3-point shooter.
Frierson: Do you miss playing a team sport like basketball? You're on the Georgia golf team now and you're pursuing a team goal together, but once you're on the course it is an individual thing.
Thompson: Yeah, for sure. I miss basketball a lot. I love going to Georgia basketball games and just watching it, I miss playing with my friends and being part of that team atmosphere, all the bus rides, and all that good stuff.
Frierson: You guys on the golf team take some pretty good trips every year, going to places like Pebble Beach, Sea Island, maybe Hawaii or Puerto Rico. What is it like experiencing that part of college golf, where you get to go play the best courses in the country?
Thompson: It's really cool. A lot of the courses we play are good tests for us, just to kind of help prepare us for the next level. Everywhere we go I just try to pick up on something each course offers and each course demands of your game and just try to work on that.
Traveling all over the country is cool but it does make it hard to keep up with schoolwork sometimes, but at the end of the day I'm not going to complain about getting to travel out to California to play Pebble Beach — it's a pretty sweet deal.
Frierson: You guys are going to be playing at The Blessings, which during the NCAA Women's Championships has been a pretty brutal test with some really high scores. How well do you know that course?
Thompson: It's really long and we play out there a lot, so we're excited to get out there because we know it's a ball-striker's golf course and we're, all five of us, pretty good ball strikers.
Frierson: How long does it take to get a feel for a golf course? What do you look at and look for that maybe the average golfer isn't considering?
Thompson: Just sights off the tee for me — the big thing for me is getting the ball in the fairway — and once I do that I really just focus on the green complexes and where to miss it and where not to miss it. Then the speed of the greens and all that kind of stuff factors into where you want to putt it from and where you want to hit your iron shot.
Frierson: How much better are you now at figuring all of that stuff out versus a few years ago?
Thompson: I'm probably a million times better; it's crazy how much I've learned the past two years of college and I'm only a sophomore, too, so it's kind of encouraging that I still have two more years left to keep learning and keep growing in that area.
Frierson: What's the perfect meal or bite to eat when you make the turn after nine holes?
Thompson: Oh, man, I love just having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As far as snacks throughout the round, I always eat almonds just because they're healthy for you and they give you a little bit of protein.
Frierson: You're awfully young to be worried about eating healthy snacks and getting a little protein.
Thompson: My diet's not the best but when I'm on the golf course I've got to have something to keep going.
Frierson: Did you go to Auburn football games growing up? Were you there for the legendary Kick Six game?
Thompson: I went to a lot of games but I actually was not there for the Kick Six. I was there for the Prayer In Jordan-Hare when they beat Georgia on the Hail Mary.
I was actually sitting on my couch watching the Georgia-Georgia Tech game and I flipped it over to the Auburn game (against Alabama) and I saw the Kick Six play on TV.
Frierson: That says something right there, that you were watching Georgia-Georgia Tech instead of the Iron Bowl.
Thompson: I grew up a big Georgia fan.
Frierson: What would you say is the best shot you've ever hit?
Thompson: It was probably my 7-iron I hit into 18 at the regional. With everything on the line, I hit it up there to about 5 feet and made the putt.
Frierson: How much does a shot like that carry forward and help you the next time you're in a high-pressure situation?
Thompson: It always feels good to go back on previous experiences when you've hit a good shot under pressure. It'll take the shots that I hit well last week when I needed to and just carry those with me into nationals.
Frierson: You've got a birthday coming up soon (June 5), so what's the best birthday present you've ever received?
Thompson: Last year my mom put every home video that we ever had of me and my sister growing up into a flash drive, so I just have it in my book bag and I can watch any home video that we have. It's kind of cool to be able to look back on those memories whenever I want.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
