In many ways it's a guessing game. The tournament winner is picked by the highest number of points between 8 potential players who are selected among a field of well over 100. Week in and week out we try to assemble the winning team - whether by stats such as fairway % and strokes gained: putting or by a gut feeling that a certain player is due. There is a bit of luck involved but it takes a touch of persistence as well. Sometimes you get it right on the first try and sometimes you have to grind it out over the course of an entire Segment.
For last week's shared winners Tomte and Strangers the grinding finally paid off. Tomte began her season in the worst possible way - finishing dead last in the league's first tournament in Hawaii. But by the end of the Winter she would go on to post 6 Top 10s and surpass the league average in this category by 20%. Only making one substitution all week she trusted her instincts with a field of Na, Walker, Spieth, Jones and Furyk. She garnered 30 bonus points from Spieth and Walker and would outpace the field by a decent margin. Her rise in the standings as well as her new label as a contender has put the name of Tomte on the lips of young girls the world over who one day hope to compete on the Fantasy Tour. In the course of 12 weeks Tomte has risen over 15 spots on the standings and boasts 50% Top 10 finishes so far. She is in 13th overall as she begins the Spring and looks to add to her season earnings as it warms up. Congrats to Tomte.
The dictionary defines the term Grinder as "a container filled with small spikes to help grind marijuana up to make rolling blunts easier." This is not what is meant when it is whispered around the clubhouse that Strangers is a grinder. For nearly a season and a half Strangers has been putting in his time, accumulating Top 10s and Top 3s on a semi regular basis. He won 5 tournaments last year and although his performance never won him a Segment it did pay off in the end as he overtook the season points total late in the Summer and went on to win the Jackson Cup. This shared win at Valero can be taken as a sign that Strangers will continue to grind it out until he gets what he came for. Strangers marched through the TPC San Antonio with Walker and Spieth leading the charge. He was able to make up 4 points on the leader in the last round to get a share of the lead and co-win the Valero. He forced his way into the top 10 of the standings and finishes the Winter Segment with 4 Top 10s and 2 Top 3s. He has the 8th spot overall and will be a perpetual contender as the season rolls on. Congrats Strangers.
Night Putting would round out the top 3 by finishing just 8 points back from the co-leaders. He would also make only 1 substitution all week and if he'd made two more in the final round the Valero would have had a 3 way tie. But still it was a solid performance for the veteran as he gets his first Top 3 of the young season and moves up 3 spots into 24th overall. He's got some serious work to do to turn his points total around but a strong finish like this is a good note to head into a new segment with. Night Putting now has 3 Top 10s and looks to add to it at the Shell Houston Open.
Winter Segment Champion: The Gophers
Where did The Gophers come from? A hotter start to the season one cannot have. The Gophers started the Winter with a Top 3 finish at the Hyndai TOC and went on to score 7 Top 10s in a row during the first 7 weeks. He then missed the Top 10 in week 8 (only 1 of 2 weeks the entire Segment that he would miss it) and turned right around to win the WGC in week 9. His lead in the standings is well established with 83 more points than his closest competition. He is 1 of 2 teams with multiple wins in so far and has 3 more Top 10s than anyone else as well as 3 Top 3s to go with it. He leads the league in bonus points with 225 (nearly 100 more than the league average) and has picked a league-leading 8 winning players. The Gophers is the runaway winner of the Winter Segment and enters the Spring with a full head of steam and a $50 paycheck to add to his season earnings. The only question that remains is whether or not he will keep up this onslaught. Congrats to The Gophers.
Other Notables:
2 Footer has climbed up in the standings over the past month and got his 3rd Top 10 before the Winter came to a close. He finishes the Segment right in the middle of the pack and looks to start chipping away at earning back his entry fee in April and May.
Although Kikakee Tees finished the Segment in 5th place overall with 5 Top 10s and is ranked 4th in Bonus Points he can't help but feel he missed out as he went 0 for 12 in Top 3s. He came close with a 4th at The Farmers in week 5 and got 4 out of 6 Top 10s to start the Winter but then only got 1 more in the Segment's second half. He'll look to make a statement in Georgia on April 12.
Talkeetna98 finishes a strong Winter Segment with a Top 10 and a 5th place finish at Valero. He moved up several spots in the last week and now holds down the 7th spot overall. His line reads 6/3/1 in Top 10s, 3s and wins and is definitely one of the league's heavyweights. However he is ranked below the league average in Bonus Points (130) at 110. He'll look to work out this kink in his game as he continues to contend for the Season Championship.
The name Big Easy is not one that has been thrown around too often this Segment but he has quietly been moving up the leaderboard. He snagged his 5th Top 10 of the Winter at Valero and now sits just outside the overall top 10 in 14th place. His highest finish was a runner up at the season opener in Hawaii but hasn't been back up that high since. He'll look to take his smooth swinging points total to another level once April comes around.
Perhaps the most frustrated team out there this Segment was T-Off-Killah who despite having a stellar Winter going 7/2/0 in Top 10s, 3s and wins it's the zero on the end that doesn't sit well with him. He started the Winter 4 for 4 in Top 10s and has been runner up twice, missing the win at the WGC by a mere 6 points. Still, it's a positive start for T-Off and he'll now look to add some cash to his successful track record.
It was a disappointing finish to the Segment for Papa Pilgrim as he was ousted from the overall top 10 in the final week. He sprinkled good performances throughout the Winter going 5/1/0 with his highest finish coming in week 2 at the Sony Open with a 3rd place finish. He lingered for the majority of the Segment in the middle of the top 10 but fell out with a below average score at Valero. Papa has been here before though and knows how to rebound. He is the reigning Spring Segment Champ and certainly turned on the jets last year to start the new segment. He'll look to do the same this year as he has designs on keeping his fantasy Green Jacket.
The three newcomers to the league midway through the Winter have done quite well for themselves as Rug Munchers, Whiny Little Pitch and Shanks fa Nuffin have accumulated 8 Top 10s and 2 Top 3s between them. The learning curve was not steep for them as they'll enter the Spring on an even playing field with everyone else and look to give Gophers a run for his money.
Some teams have let the spark go dim over the last month and a half and haven't shown their faces around the Top 10 in a while. Eat My Grind started the season with 3 Top 10s in his first 7 tournaments but has gone cold since then. Freeside Links snagged back to back Top 10s in week 5 & 6 but hasn't been seen since. Geeteeo seems to get confused on what day of the week it is sometimes as his Non-Entries have hurt him. He'll take 2 Top 10s to the bank though. Last year Better Than Most racked up 9 wins and a Segment Championship but hasn't found his swing yet as he languishes with only 1 Top 10. Hopefully the Spring brings new life to these struggling warriors.
It seemed for a while that the Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray would be a favorite for the Winter Segment as he got 5 of 7 Top 10s in the first 7 weeks with a runner up at the Humana. He has managed to keep his spot in the overall top 10 but has only 1 Top 10 in his last 5 starts. Perhaps the Doctor has been out making house calls but he'll look to get some work done come Spring.
Ratrick Peed has been grinding it out and is currently the highest ranked team with the fewest Top 10s. His line reads 3/1/1 and is just outside the top 10. He does have a win under his belt though and could easily be in contention for the Segment come June.
A quick look at the Bonus Points standings might give you an idea of where you stand.
Perhaps the most frustrated team out there this Segment was T-Off-Killah who despite having a stellar Winter going 7/2/0 in Top 10s, 3s and wins it's the zero on the end that doesn't sit well with him. He started the Winter 4 for 4 in Top 10s and has been runner up twice, missing the win at the WGC by a mere 6 points. Still, it's a positive start for T-Off and he'll now look to add some cash to his successful track record.
It was a disappointing finish to the Segment for Papa Pilgrim as he was ousted from the overall top 10 in the final week. He sprinkled good performances throughout the Winter going 5/1/0 with his highest finish coming in week 2 at the Sony Open with a 3rd place finish. He lingered for the majority of the Segment in the middle of the top 10 but fell out with a below average score at Valero. Papa has been here before though and knows how to rebound. He is the reigning Spring Segment Champ and certainly turned on the jets last year to start the new segment. He'll look to do the same this year as he has designs on keeping his fantasy Green Jacket.
The three newcomers to the league midway through the Winter have done quite well for themselves as Rug Munchers, Whiny Little Pitch and Shanks fa Nuffin have accumulated 8 Top 10s and 2 Top 3s between them. The learning curve was not steep for them as they'll enter the Spring on an even playing field with everyone else and look to give Gophers a run for his money.
Some teams have let the spark go dim over the last month and a half and haven't shown their faces around the Top 10 in a while. Eat My Grind started the season with 3 Top 10s in his first 7 tournaments but has gone cold since then. Freeside Links snagged back to back Top 10s in week 5 & 6 but hasn't been seen since. Geeteeo seems to get confused on what day of the week it is sometimes as his Non-Entries have hurt him. He'll take 2 Top 10s to the bank though. Last year Better Than Most racked up 9 wins and a Segment Championship but hasn't found his swing yet as he languishes with only 1 Top 10. Hopefully the Spring brings new life to these struggling warriors.
It seemed for a while that the Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray would be a favorite for the Winter Segment as he got 5 of 7 Top 10s in the first 7 weeks with a runner up at the Humana. He has managed to keep his spot in the overall top 10 but has only 1 Top 10 in his last 5 starts. Perhaps the Doctor has been out making house calls but he'll look to get some work done come Spring.
Ratrick Peed has been grinding it out and is currently the highest ranked team with the fewest Top 10s. His line reads 3/1/1 and is just outside the top 10. He does have a win under his belt though and could easily be in contention for the Segment come June.
A quick look at the Bonus Points standings might give you an idea of where you stand.
| Team | Bonus Points |
| The Gophers | 225 |
| Baby Draw Part 2 | 210 |
| T-Off-Killah | 205 |
| Kikakee Tees | 195 |
| Jowls | 175 |
| That's Wet! | 155 |
| 2 Footer | 155 |
| Hogan's Heros | 150 |
| Chubbs Peterson | 140 |
| Darth Fader | 140 |
| Big Easy | 135 |
| Danny Noonan | 130 |
| Strangers | 130 |
| Brookline (Golf) Ballers | 120 |
| Show and Dough | 115 |
| Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray | 115 |
| Tomte | 115 |
| Papa Pilgrim | 110 |
| Tour Ball | 110 |
| Ratrick Peed | 110 |
| Talkeetna98 | 110 |
| Larry Philpot | 105 |
| Better Than Most | 105 |
| Where Eagles Dare | 105 |
| Freeside Links | 100 |
| Eat My Grind | 95 |
| Geeteeo | 90 |
| Rebels | 85 |
| BevGin&Tonic | 85 |
| Night Putting | 75 |
| Whiny Little Pitch | 55 |
| Rug Munchers | 45 |
| Shanks fa Nuffin | 30 |
| Carl Spackler | 0 |
Spring Segment Schedule/Payouts
| 13 | Shell Houston Open | $10.00 | |
| 14 | The Masters | $20.00 | |
| 15 | RBC Heritage | $10.00 | |
| 16 | Zurich Classic of New Orleans | $10.00 | |
| 17 | The Players Championship | $10.00 | |
| 18 | Wells Fargo Championship | $10.00 | |
| 19 | Crowne Plaza Invitational | $10.00 | |
| 20 | AT&T Byron Nelson Championship | $10.00 | |
| 21 | The Memorial Tournament | $10.00 | |
| 22 | Fedex St. Jude Classic | $10.00 | |
| 23 | U.S. Open | $20.00 | |
| 24 | Travelers Championship | $10.00 | |
| Spring Champion | $50.00 |
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