At a time in the season when the big tournaments are almost every week and only a couple "small" events are left Strangers decided to put things on autopilot. Never wavering from his starting roster on Thursday he stuck with them the whole way. Snedeker, Furyk, DeLaet, and McDowell led the charge and that's all he would need. Between Furyk, DeLaet and McDowell all three would finish in the top 10 giving Strangers solid rounds throughout. He even had Kuchar on the bench who finished 4th but he wouldn't even need him as he posted 204 points to beat runner up Night Putting at 296. In a week when the majority of the teams had the same players it was most likely going to be close but Strangers picked the right guys from the get-go and edged out an 8 point victory - his first of the Summer and 5th of the season (second most overall). Night Putting had all the components but couldn't find the right combination until it was too late as he fiddled around with his starters on Thursday and Friday before settling on the best foursome for the weekend. Remarkably this is Night Putting's 5th top 3 in as many tournaments - all of them being runner up finishes! He is setting a pace the likes of which has not been seen this season, missing out on first place each week by an average of only 7 points. Will he be able to break through over the remaining 7 weeks? And rounding out the top 3 - with her second top 3 in a row - is the dark horse Show & Dough. Her only misstep was Dustin Johnson's first round which proved to take her off the winning pace. She has been up and down all season (mostly down) but is showing the pluckiness of a young David Duval. After a rough season it would go a long way for her street cred to string together a strong finish to the season.
The final 7 weeks: With only 7 weeks left there are realistically 4, maybe 5, teams left in the hunt for the Summer Segment win.Night Putting's dominant performance so far puts him in first at 780 followed by Strangers who is 57 points back and then Better Than Most (60 points back). The Bull and Jowls are looming on the horizon but would require a series of fortuitous events.
The season championship is still up in the air as well. Strangers leads by relatively comfortable margin of 60 points over Better Than Most but that could vanish in an instant. Baby Draw has been struggling over the summer and has fallen off the pace somewhat but is just 80 points off of first. The Bull is also in the running at 98 points back but again some magic would have to happen. Money, titles, honor, respect - it's all on the line.
This week the WGC - Bridgestone Invitational kicks off and with a limited field and player-starts running out for teams it will be interesting to see if field expands or narrows as teams try to conserve players for the playoffs. Tensions are high as every point matters.
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