If there's anything Matt Thompson remembers about last year's Michigan Amateur, it's the challenge of just reaching the end.

Five days and 144 holes of stroke and match play golf tend to take their toll, putting as much of a premium on mental toughness as on hitting enough shots to remain in title contention.

By the start of last year's championship round, Thompson was running on fumes, hoping to survive a final day charge by eventual champion Tom Werkmeister, who, at 41, was trying to outlast the Michigan sophomore who was half his age.

Thompson is now better prepared, convinced that last year's runner-up finish taught him enough to help keep him in the hunt at this week's 99th Michigan Amateur at Oakhurst Golf and Country Club in Clarkston.

The tournament begins Tuesday and runs through Saturday, shifting to match play following the first two days of 18-hole stroke play competition.

"Mentally, I found out how much more focused you have to be for the entire tournament and how much it weighs on you," Thompson said Saturday. "You have to fight and everyone is going through it and so you can't get down on yourself. You just have keep battling and try and get through it as much as you can."

Last year, Thompson built an early 3-up lead only to see Werkmeister capture five straight holes before posting a 4-and-3 win. Thompson, who used a pair of early birdies to build the advantage, was playing on adrenaline, hoping it would hold out the rest of the way.

By the time Werkmeister made his move, Thompson knew he was drained, forcing him to try and regroup after a few bad shots allowed Werkmeister back into the match.

"Trying to fight back isn't the easiest thing to do after playing so much golf," Thompson said. "Last year, I felt like I was in pretty good mental shape - I didn't really let too much get out of hand, I just minded by own business and I felt like I played well enough to win."

That experience, as well as his second year of Division I golf, has readied the 20-year-old for this week's golf gauntlet, which will come on an Oakhurst course he's never seen.

Thompson, who finished as the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships this spring, believes his game is in good enough shape to make another run at the top of this week's leaderboard. He played well enough during the spring at Michigan to earn spots in the final round of Big Ten events, making him believe he's ready to take the next step and capture what would be an important win in his young career.

The fact that he hasn't seen the Oakhurst track doesn't concern him. By going in blind, Thompson said he'll need to focus more on each shot over the first two days of stroke play before the three days of match play that lead to the championship round follow.

This week's field includes several locals, several of which - including Saline's Michael Ignasiak, Ann Arbor's Marty Jeppesen and Aaron Peterson along with Ypsilanti's Tim Katanski - all had exempt status for this week's event.

A steady season of reaching the final round of Big Ten events has helped sharpen Thompson - both golf-wise and mentally - readying him for what he realizes is going to be another long stretch of championship golf.

"You just have to go one match at a time because you never know when you're going to run into a guy who's just on fire and having a great day," Thompson said. "Match play is a bit different - you have to play well, but you can shoot 75 and win or shoot 65 and lose.

"There's a lot of matches, but if you can be calm and just get through it, you never know what can happen."

Jeff Arnold covers sports for AnnArbor.com and can be reached at (734) 623-2554 or by email at jeffarnold@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffreyparnold.