SMU Signs Two-Time Cancer Survivor Justin Thompson

Golfweek.com's Kevin Casey's story about Justin Thompson committing to SMU for 2017 is of note for a few reasons. Mostly that Thompson is a two-time cancer survivor (Casey details Thompson's battle) and that he's a pupil of Jordan Spieth instructor Cameron McCormick.

But there is also the idea that the program, hit with a virtual death penalty by the NCAA and Bryson DeChambeau dropping out, might scare off prospective recruits.

So far it sounds like they are not slowing down in the signing department.  

It's fitting that someone who has already gone through so much adversity will soon enter a golf program beset by sanctions for the near future. When asked about that potential hurdle to committing, Thompson felt that by the time he gets on campus most of the sanctions will have dissipated, and the fact that the current players and coaches weren't involved in the violations swayed him to minimize their importance.

Besides, if something were to go awry, Thompson has already had plenty of experience in that department. And it's only made him better.

“With the cancer experience, you learn about having courage, having faith and that there’s a plan for everything," Thompson said. "I’m stronger and more mature as a person than had I not gone through it.”

Video: Ex-SMU Coach Explains Himself, Blasts NCAA

The NCAA's sanctions of SMU golf get to the heart of what so many struggle to reconcile with the modern day NCAA--student-athletes unfairly punished for the actions of adults.

And after watching Golf Central's coverage of SMU's postseason golf ban, impacting the current individual NCAA and U.S. Amateur champion, the assertive and convincing comments of former coach Josh Gregory  to Golf Channel's George Savaricus will likely only increase disdain for the NCAA as an enforcement agency. (Or you may think he's lying...).

Setup Run Amok Files: NCAA Women's Finals At Concession

As the NCAA Women's Golf Championship prepares to whittle its field from stroke play to the match play finalists (and gets Golf Channel coverage Monday-Wednesday), Ryan Lavner assesses a course setup that appears to have gotten out of hand. (17 of the 24 teams posted their worst 18-hole score of the year.)

Yes, most of the top teams will advance to match play, but in recent years the NCAA's have suffered from questionable setups (Prairie Dunes bathed in rough for the men last year) and the women facing what sounds like an excessive test at Concession has many worried about what we'll see on TV.

Women’s college golf hasn’t been on national television in years, and everyone hopes to make a good impression when the cameras start rolling for real Monday afternoon. That’s problematic now, Washington coach Mary Lou Mulflur says, because “people will see teams 40 over par in the mix, and it doesn’t make us look very good.”

“This setup is the most difficult I’ve been on,” Alabama coach Mic Potter said. “And I don’t think that’s a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t hurt the perception of our sport.”