Davis Thompson produced one of the most unusual rounds of the Wyndham Championship:
A second career albatross.
A cracked driver.
A replacement club used fresh out of the package on the 18th.
And a 5-under 65 that moved him to 13-under heading into the final round.
Thompson began slowly, but the albatross changed the entire direction of his day.
“Making an albatross usually helps get things going.”
He knew the ball had gone in and suddenly found himself three under through five holes. Thompson then closed his opening nine strongly and carried the momentum through the tenth before the round began to stall.
His second career albatross came years after another at Bay Hill, on the 16th during the Palmer Cup. That one was not part of a PGA TOUR round—and, when asked about video of the two rare scores, Thompson joked that he was now “0-for-2”.
Asked whether a hole-in-one or an albatross is more exciting, Thompson initially gave the ace the emotional advantage.
Then the competitor took over:
“At the end of the day, three under is better than two under, so I’ll take the albatross any day of the week.”
The next surprise came from his equipment.
Thompson struck a strong drive on the tenth and an acceptable one on the 11th. When he reached the 14th tee, he looked down and noticed that his driver had cracked.
He made what he considered a good swing, but the ball started sharply to the right.
The situation did not create panic. Thompson assessed where he could use a three-wood, accepted the disruption and arranged a replacement driver.
On the 18th, he used the new club for the first time—fresh out of the package—and received a helpful break.
The replacement will now need to be tested and adjusted before the final round.
Despite the albatross, Thompson felt he became stuck in neutral over the closing holes. He struck several good putts that did not fall, but still completed a 65 and described himself as being in a strong position for Sunday.
At the time of the interview, Thompson believed he was two shots from the lead.
The final round carries major FedExCup consequences.
This is Thompson’s fourth PGA TOUR season, and in two of the previous three he entered the final stage close to the qualification line. He says he missed the Playoffs by one shot last year and by two or three shots during his rookie campaign.
Those experiences still hurt.
“It sucks. I mean, it sucks.”
The lesson Thompson takes from them is to stop playing merely to finish inside a projected number.
He does not want to stare at leaderboards and calculate the minimum result required to reach the postseason.
He wants to win the Wyndham Championship.
“Focus on trying to win the actual golf tournament—not trying to just make the Playoffs.”
Thompson admits it is a mental battle to ignore the consequences, but believes his best route into the postseason is to commit fully to every shot, trust his reads and use the experience gained from his previous near misses.
After a difficult season, he is proud of the opportunities he has created over the last three weeks.
Sunday offers the chance to place an exclamation point on that improvement:
Play his way into the FedExCup Playoffs—or win the tournament.
Watch Davis Thompson’s complete third-round interview from the 2026 Wyndham Championship.
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