Well lady & gentlemen, one of the longest fantasy sports seasons in existence has come to an end. It seems like only yesterday when The Artist - then known by some other name long-forgotten - won the inaugural tournament on Jan 6. Things were different back then. It was the best of times; it was the worst of time. It was a time when Harris English was on every starting roster. When folks eagerly looked forward to the day fast approaching they could send Tiger into the fray. But it would all turn to ashes as teams’ fortunes would rise and fall with the tide – and many were quickly swept under the waves. Teams would become seasonal and migrate with the weather. Fairway to Heaven preferred to hunt in the winter while Show & Dough stalked her prey when the sun was at its zenith. Others came out of hiding when there was big game to be had – The Bull taking down his first victim at the Masters. Some would be one trick ponies while others went on to set the standard so high even Jack would have to crane his neck to gaze upward. Greatness was within reach for some but just as Sisyphus could never quite roll his rock to the top of the hill so was the taste of championship glory just out of reach for many. It was a grind and only the most diligent made it through all 36 weeks with their heads held high - Strangers perhaps with his head held the highest. Strangers made it a foregone conclusion that he would win the season by turning on the jets halfway through the season. Starting out the winter with a 5th place finish he would go onto finish runner up in both the Spring and the Summer. He accumulated 13 top 3s, 5 wins and finished in the top 10 in each and every tournament. A more consistent player there was not. He will look to defend his title at the First Timers Invitational in October and collect his Season Champion prize of $90.
The PGA season wrapped up on Sunday with the Tour Championship and in record setting style it was Better Than Most who notched his league leading 9th win of the season and made it an even 3 wins per segment. It would come down to the wire as Baby Draw – Better Than Most’s season rival – was in hot pursuit. But Better Than Most garnered 40 bonus points with a win from Horschel and tied second finishers McIlroy and Furyk and finish with 254 points, 14 points ahead of the competition. Fairway to Heaven and Jowls made a run for it on Sunday and were able to pull alongside Baby Draw for a tied for second finish. Jowls made a bid for his first season win but will settle for his 4th top 3 of the season. Fairway has been up and down but has always been a contender and got his 13th top 3 of the season – second most. Baby Draw was probably the best team in the league to not win a segment or season championship. Accruing 12 top 3’s, 5 wins and finishing in the top 10 35/36 times he would finish in second place for the season.
Despite a rough start to the year and never finishing a segment better than 7th place Night Putting would seemingly come out of nowhere to run away with the Summer Segment and surpass the runner up by 67 points. He would finish in the top 3 seven times for the segment and a total of 12 times for the season – at one point going 6 consecutive tournaments with top 3 finishes. He snags the Summer Championship and with it a spot in the fantasy golf record books – as well as his prize money of $50.
For next season the stakes will be even higher – and more lucrative. Just as they do it on the PGA Tour there will be payouts for the winner of every tournament. But in order to bring the season to its complete conclusion we’ll have the First Timers Invitational – a best ball tourney at George Wright in Boston on Oct 11 – with a chance to win even more cash. http://doodle.com/
Thanks for the great season everyone – see you next year!
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