BevGin&Tonic Has Breakthrough Performance - Wins First Title at Zurich Classic

It's easy to get distracted with the big names on the Fantasy Tour these days. The Top 10 teams alone have more Top 3s than the rest of the entire league! Names like 'The Gophers', 'That's Wet' and 'Baby Draw' are now emblazoned on graphic tees being worn by kids throughout the city of Baltimore as they show off their team pride. It's easy to forget those other teams in the league who don't have the flashiness of a Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray or the pizzazz of a Hogan's Heros. After all, the fortune and fame these teams have won on Tour has been well earned and their status as league powerhouses cannot be denied. But with the change in weather has come a change in fortune for the lesser-knowns who take the long walk ever week. It started with the surprise underdog Freeside Links who opened the Segment with back to back wins. Little-known Better Than Most has now doubled his Winter Top 10 total only 4 weeks into the Spring. Where Eagles Dare has risen in the standings faster than inflation rates during the Carter Administration. And last week at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans it would be yet another unsung hero who would be crowned champion after the silt settled on the bayou. 

BevGin&Tonic made some gutsy calls with his roster last week going with a field of mainly 2nd and 3rd tier players. Tringale, Merritt, Thomas, O'Hair and Stricker made up the bulk of his battalion while Rose and Chucky "Three Sticks" made up the officer core. He was chasing the leader all week as Jowls jumped out to an early lead after rain shortened rounds on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Bev has never been known for his savvy rosters or his ability to pick a winner - fielding only 2 winners all season up till now. But this was Bev's week - making only 2 subs after the second round he got Rose and Thomas into the action. After ranking near the bottom in total bonus points for the season he would come out of his funk and garner 30 bonus points from Rose and Tringale which more than doubled his Spring total. A masterful performance indeed. Bev now has a slash line of 3/1/1 with the win marking his first title and first Top 3 of the season. He's put himself in a position to make a run at the Spring Championship but it'll take a continued effort to keep the pace. Congrats BevGin&Tonic.

Already with one championship under his belt but still a relative underdog this season the Zurich runner-up TourBall made the necessary subs early and found his go-to lineup in the 2nd round. He scored big with Day, Rose and O'Hair but would come up short by only 10 points and miss his second win of the year. Looking back one can always see the substitutions that would have got them the trophy but such is the luck of the draw. TourBall continues the trend of upending the standings as several teams keep emerging from their winter hibernation. This is TourBall's first Top 3 and Top 10 of the Spring and his 3rd Top 3 overall. He'll keep looking for that second win as the Spring rolls on.

The trend of new comers upstaging the old order had to stop somewhere as one of the league powerhouses decided he wouldn't stand for this new generation of upstarts taking from the rich and giving to the poor. Hogan's Heros has amassed a league 2nd best 9 Top 10s on the season and this - his first Top 10 of the Spring - continues the trend. Hogan's was a 6th place finisher in the Winter and finds himself on a similar footing to start the Spring as he currently stands in 7th. If Hogan's is to solidify his legacy he'll need to break away from the pack to get a Segment Title. 

Notables:

Show and Dough is off to a hot start this Spring as she has now picked 3 winners in 4 tournaments. She has accrued 80 bonus points already and finds herself just a stones throw from 4th place at 26 points back. This is the Show's 2nd Top 10 of the Spring.

The hottest team right now is arguably Where Eagles Dare as he gets his 3rd Top 10 of the Spring and leads the Segment with 90 bonus points. He has picked 3 winners in 4 tournaments and if he continues to field the right roster he'll be a favorite contender for the Segment Title and the $50 paycheck. 

A name not often mentioned during the Winter but which has now found itself to be a minor topic at the start of the Spring is Better Than Most. After a quiet winter with only 1 Top 10 BTM now has 2 Top 10s in 4 Spring starts and currently sits in 10th place. Time will tell if this is only a blip on the radar but it's a good start after a lackluster Winter for Better Than Most.

Papa Pilgrim was off to a slow start this Segment but finally got his first Top 10 of the Spring. He had a strong Winter but has been a bit sluggish to start the new session. It was only a T9 at Zurich but its still progress. Papa will look to continue his resurgence at The Players next week where he had a strong 3rd place finish just a year ago.

Kikakee Tees followed up his shared win at RBC with another Top 10 in New Orleans. His T5 was a strong statement to the league that The Tees aren't going anywhere and he remains to be a perpetual Top 10 threat.

Two of the other league powerhouses finished with Top 10s as well. Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray and Baby Draw finished 4th and T7, respectively. Both teams are near the top of the standings for the season and continue to give The Gophers chase. They'll have their work cut out for them though as they look to continue to accumulate Top 10s and 3s to keep up the pace.

Things are still pretty tight near the top for the Spring so far and only 100 points separates 10th from 1st. It gets even denser near the Top 10's midsection as only 12 points separates 8th from 4th. Tomte, That's Wet, Kikakee, Talkeetna98 - they're all in there giving Freeside a run for his money and there's plenty of time for it all to play out. The boys and girls on the Fantasy Tour get to take a break for a this week as the WGC Cadillac Match Play is not hosted on Yahoo due to scoring difficulties. Go home, see your families, relax and unwind. Because next up is The Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL and you'll need your energy. Talkeetna98 is the reigning champ at The Players where last year he had a resounding win by collecting bonus points from multiple players. If the Spring has proven anything though its that each week is anybody's game. To the drafting room!