Single, residing in a Conshohocken apartment until he moves on to his next Open course in August, Thompson arrived here on Sept. 1, 2011, nearly two years before the event will be conducted at the Ardmore club.
"I deal with everything outside the ropes," he said.
Every non-golfing issue, from security checks on hot dog vendors to where to drive tent stakes to the most vexing problem of all, how to move 25,000 visitors a day in and out of a facility that's half as large as the typical Open layout, eventually finds its way to his office, located just beyond a second-floor storage area that's just beyond the men's locker room.
He's had to navigate the byzantine governmental structure in Pennsylvania's suburbs, deal with law enforcement agencies ranging from Homeland Security to the Haverford Township Police Department, work around the course alterations USGA colleague Mike Davis has mandated, and mollify irritated residents, unhappy vendors, and put-upon members.
And this Open, Thompson's fourth as championship director - '07 at Oakmont, '09 at Bethpage and '11 at Congressional - has provided an additional headache.
"The lack of space here [Merion's property is 125 acres while the typical Open course is nearly 250] and what had to be done to expand the footprint is certainly unique," Thompson said. "We've never had a site where we've had to go to entities outside the club to rent space to build facilities."
That meant, in order to accommodate the enormous tents now as traditional a U.S. Open feature as tight fairways and thick roughs, Merion had to lease land from adjoining Haverford College and several homeowners on Golf House Road, which runs along the 13th and 14th holes.
Still, Thompson's biggest challenge remains getting spectators to and from the course, which has no major highway access and is situated in the midst of narrow streets and populated neighborhoods.
"Once it was determined that Merion could again host an Open, the first thing we looked at was transportation," Thompson said. "I think we've got a plan that will work, though we're not ready to roll it out to the public.
"We want people to be able to utilize SEPTA [its high-speed and regional lines] as much as possible. For those who drive, we generally try to find lots 20 to 30 minutes away. And we try to make sure that the routes from there to the golf course are efficient."
Thompson, recently engaged, has resided here long enough to accumulate some local wisdom. Whenever possible, he's eliminated the Blue Route and Schuylkill Expressway from planning.
"The Blue Route is great, but we all know that at certain times, primarily Friday at rush hour, it's unwise to be on it," he said. "The hotels we're using are primarily in the King of Prussia area. We looked at Center City years ago, but we thought the predictability of being able to get people in and out might be a challenge. There's only one way in and out of city, and it's very, very congested."
Popularity exploded
Though Merion has been the site of more USGA events than any other course, the experiences of its previous four Opens, the most recent in 1981, weren't much help to Thompson, who began his career in 1996 running the tournament office at Pinehurst.
Golf's popularity as a spectator sport has exploded in the interim. The 100,000 fans who will attend Thursday through Sunday, the 4,800 volunteers, the armies of TV employees and the golfers themselves require a level of services, amenities, and security unimaginable when David Graham won here in 1981.
"It's a totally different world," Thompson said, "especially the security. If anyone was here in '81 and came back in '13, that's the biggest difference they'd see.
In addition to 300 private security officers and nearly 100 uniformed police present daily, airport-like magnetometers will be utilized at entry points. Ticket holders will be screened for weapons, cell phones, mobile devices, and outside food and beverages.
Thompson and his team have run background checks on food handlers at concession stands, those delivering fuel for the dozens of massive generators powering the event, and any volunteers who will cross paths with players.
He receives frequent threat assessments and briefings from Homeland Security, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Big-name golfers such as Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, and Phil Mickleson will be provided with entry-to-exit escorts.
"We work with the PGA's director of security about what might be out there in terms of player threats," he said.
A few dozen players will be renting area homes, while the remainder, plus all the volunteers, media members, and USGA officials will be staying in the 7,000 hotel rooms Thompson has blocked out that week.
The home rental stock around Merion, Thompson said, seemed much more plentiful than at the other Opens he's worked.
"At Congressional, we didn't have a lot of interest early," Thompson said. "We had to use the club's newsletter to ask members if they knew anyone interested in renting their home for the week. But here we very early on had 175 people express interest."
Thompson's tiny office contains several blueprints displaying the proposed locations for the 16,000 grandstand seats, for the paths that will get spectators around the cramped course, for the routes to be used by vehicles shuttling players and their families from the range and player hospitality facilities at Merion's West Course, a half-mile up Ardmore Avenue.
Get more hectic
If there were a blueprint for Thompson's schedule, it would be a chaotic jumble. He attends Haverford Township meetings and talks regularly with SEPTA officials, local police departments, and Haverford College administrators.
He's supervised the massive merchandising and concession operations - there's been no decision yet on whether the Minnesota-based concessionaire will dare offer its version of a cheesesteak - and determined where the tents, wires, generators, TV towers and snack bars can go.
And it's only going to get more hectic.
"Right now we're on a typical business schedule, Monday to Friday, with maybe a Saturday here or there," Thompson said of his workweek. "In February and March, the days will get longer. By late April, we'll be working 12 to 14 hours seven days a week."
As he gently tries to mesh the outside demands with Merion's needs, Thompson's easy manner and soft drawl likely have been assets.
"It's just relationships and dealing with people and being up front and honest with them," he said. "It's not like the USGA has come in and said, 'We're going to do this whether you like it or not.' The job is figuring out a way to take care of both entities."
Outside on the crisp November afternoon, crews were working on a first-hole bunker and a 14th-hole green. Thompson said he avoided meddling in the course alterations, which will pick up steam in the spring.
"But if I need a tree pruned to accommodate a grandstand, I'll get in touch with [course superintendent] Matt Shaffer," he said.
On a wall not far from where he spoke was golf's most famous photo, a 1950 image of Ben Hogan following through on a 1-iron shot, the huge Open crowds narrowing Merion's 18th fairway to what seemed the width of a cart path.
"If nothing else," Thompson said with a laugh, "it's safe to say the spectators will be much wider on 18 than they were in 1950."
Contact staff writer Frank Fitzpatrick at 215-854-5068, ffitzpatrick@phillynews.com, or on Twitter @philafitz. Read his blog, "Giving 'Em Fitz," at www.philly.com/fitz.
