Thompson competing at golf tournament
Courtesy | Hillsdale Athletic Department
Junior Robert Thompson is ranked eighth in the nation for NCAA Division II golf, making him the highest-ranked ever for a Hillsdale golfer. But his love for the sport began well before college — even before kindergarten.
“I started when I was 3 years old,” Thompson said. “I saw a classic set of clubs at Walmart, and I wanted them. So, then I got into golf. It’s the only sport I liked, and it was the only sport that I was halfway decent at, so it’s what I did. I kind of sucked at catching and throwing, and golf didn’t involve those, so I liked it.”
From Charlotte, North Carolina, Thompson attended Myers Park High School. He placed in the top 15 at both the 2022 and 2023 North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A Conference State Championships and joined the starting lineup of the Hillsdale golf team his freshman year.
This year, Thompson was ranked third in the nation Oct. 15, and the team was 25th in the nation, the second-best ranking it has had since the program restarted in 2014.
Thompson’s recent success on the course is due to his strategic thinking, according to head coach Luke Kelly.
“Rob’s consistency has been really good, but he also has just not made big mistakes,” Kelly said. “So he kind of has plotted himself around the golf course really well, whereas other guys tend to, at times, hit it all over the place and make big numbers. Rob’s been really good at staying away from big numbers and in limiting his damage when he is out of position, which is kind of all it comes down to.”
Thompson said his playing this fall has improved from his playing in the spring season last semester.
“Last fall, I had a good fall, and then I had some really bad targets last spring, so I don’t think the team was really expecting me to do too well this fall, but they’re all really happy for me,” Thompson said. “I didn’t expect to do this. I was expecting to do better than last year. I think last year, after the fall, I was 77th, so I was hoping to be 50th or better. But I wasn’t expecting to do this well, because I wasn’t playing that great in summer golf. And then I started playing well about a week before the season started.”
Thompson said he chose Hillsdale because he knew he could not pass up the offer to play golf and attend a great school.
“It was the only offer I had, and it’s Hillsdale,” Thompson said. “It’s a good school. It is a conservative school, which was nice because there aren’t many of those.”
Kelly said Thompson has grown in his skills in many ways throughout the season.
“I saw him improve something each and every round,” Kelly said. “And then by the time we got to the first tournament in the season, it really seemed like he was ready to go. I think, more than anything, from what he had done in the past to what he’s doing now, his consistency has really improved.”
Thompson’s teammate, junior Oliver Marshall, said Thompson faced the season with more confidence this year, which has aided him in his success.
“We’ve been teammates now for three years, and it’s been pretty impressive to see him improve,” Marshall said. “He’s definitely gotten significantly better, especially just from last year to this year.”
Thompson is the highest-ranked player in the entire history of the college’s golf program.
“They only just restarted the [golf] program a couple years ago, but he’s even better than any of the guys that were playing back in the ’60s,” Marshall said. It’s pretty awesome, and I’m definitely really happy for him.”
Kelly said Thompson’s recent success is not limited to the golf course, as he is succeeding academically as well.
“I know he struggled when he first came in, especially as challenging as Hillsdale can be at times, but he’s really started to excel, and he was an Academic All-American last year,” Kelly said. “I think all those things combined are what’s making Rob special currently.”
The players set goals for themselves and the team at the beginning of the season and, according to Kelly, they have big plans for the spring.
“We didn’t set a goal of winning regionals or making the national championships or winning the national championships, but obviously that’s why we’re here, and that’s what we want to do,” Kelly said. “The sky is the limit for this team.”
