WM Phoenix Open

TPC Scottsdale (Stadium Course)



    PGA Tour

    Michael Thorbjornsen reveals painful reason he was a last-minute WD from last week's PGA Tour event

    January 17, 2025
    2186653985

    Kevin C. Cox

    Michael Thorbjornsen was a last-minute WD from last week's Sony Open. One week later, he's one of the early leaders at the American Express.

    As noted in Golf Digest's expert betting picks column for this week's event in Palm Springs, Thorbjornsen's late scratch gave us pause—especially since he didn't give a reason and the young star already has a history of injuries. But it turns out that it wasn't an injury that kept him from playing in Hawaii. Although the real reason might be more painful than any injury he's had.

    "Yeah, last week I had tonsillitis," Thorbjornsen said after opening with a seven-under-par 65 at La Quinta Country Club. "The day I arrived is kind of when it hit me, and I was stuck in bed for three days straight. It was really, really bad. Yeah, obviously kind of past that now, got some good reps, came out here I think Saturday, so got an extra day of practice, and kind of got things back in order."

    Ouch. The 23-year-old Stanford product who earned his PGA Tour card by finishing No. 1 in the 2024 PGA Tour University standings said antibiotics "did the trick" and that he didn't need to have his tonsils removed.

    "I think Tuesday was the worst day," Thorbjornsen said. "Those three days feel like one day, but, yeah, we were thinking, OK, if I sleep really well, if I feel good enough, even if, I mean, it's not completely healed, if I can just manage to scrounge out maybe one-, two-under, I'll feel even better for the next day and have a later tee time. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep great, woke up in the morning, and didn't feel any better, so that's kind of when we decided to withdraw."

    Thorbjornsen withdrew from the event at 5:50 a.m. local time that Thursday. But a week after being a late scratch with a scratchy throat, he looks like the guy who has top-10 finishes in his last two starts, plus a runner-up at last year's John Deere Classic.

    "My tonsils aren't touching each other any more, which is good," added Thorbjornsen, who is back in the top 10 after Day 1 of the American Express, three behind J.T. Poston's early lead. "Yeah, everything feels good, no complaints."

    Gamblers who bet on Thorbjornsen at longer odds are feeling pretty good, too.