We've been teased before only to see many of those stars mysteriously lose their game and fade away. You might recall back in the late 90s the world #1 David Duval, who won 11 of 34 tournaments, including a come-from-behind victory at the '99 Bob Hope Classic, where he eagled the last hole for a total score of 59, but his career unexpectedly took a nose dive and he never recovered. Then there was Mike Weir who also has a reserved seat at the Champions Dinner at Augusta National and who miraculously defeated the likes of Ernie, Sergio and Toms in a playoff at the 2001 Tour Championship. He occasionally makes his presence known on Tour these days... but it's rare. Many of you whipper snappers might be too young to remember the name of Ralph Guldahl but from 1937-1939 he won 3 majors including the '39 Masters. He won 16 tournaments in 4 years on Tour and then he mysteriously lost his game and quit. Then there's Ian Baker-Finch, John Daly, Bill Rogers, Johnny Miller, Tiger Woods(?)... The list goes on.
But there is much chatter going on right now in the golf world about who the next big star will be. Around club houses and lockers rooms, pro shops and internet forums, YMCAs and Phish concerts, everyone is whispering about who the next Nicklaus or Hogan or Palmer will be. And while you might be tempted to quickly convert to Spiethism and worship a golden calf with two Long Horns, especially after Augusta, you'd be dead wrong. That's because when it comes to who will be the next Serezen of our generation the name that should be on everyone's lips is Freeside Links.
In an almost Jordan Spieth-esque way Freeside dominated the field at Augusta. Taking over the lead on Saturday he never relinquished it. Despite the competition nipping at his heels he held them at bay and out of the 7 substitutions he made all week only 1 of them was incorrect. His roster was chockablock with household names - Rory, Phil, Dustin, Jordan, Patrick and Adam. With the majority of the field having near the same roster it would be his masterful substitutions that gave him the edge. He has now won two weeks in a row - the first back-to-back winner of the season - and starts the Spring Segment off on a tear. He collects the biggest single-tournament paycheck so far and pads his season earnings. He now looks to begin the long road of avoiding the pitfalls of the Duvals passed. Congrats Feeside Links.
The story could have been different last week at Augusta as the hot handed Rug Munchers was in hot pursuit of Freeside all the way to the end. He would come up just short by a heartbreaking margin of only 4 points. You can always go back and blame it on a substitution - he took out Rory in the 2nd which cost him 6 points - but you just can't start second guessing the logic behind it. Still, Munchers is off to a good start this Segment after an abbreviated Winter. He hopes to be in contention the whole way through this time and his Top 3 of the Spring is a good way to begin.
Rounding things out in 3rd is the surprise of the Spring so far - Brookline (Golf) Ballers. Brookline hung around all week inside the top 10 before making his move on Sunday coming up with 86 final round and bonus points to pass several teams for his first Top 3 of the year. He was moving players in and out the whole week trying to find that perfect combo to get max points. The stars never really seemed to align on that front but he was savvy enough to get over 200 points and his biggest finish so far. After a 12th place finish in the Spring's opening tournament he has definitely made a boatload of progress from the Winter.
Notables:
Another Spring surprise is the emergence of Where Eagles Dare who, despite coming alive late in the Winter, never really accumulated much. He finished the Masters in solo 4th and gets his 2nd Top 10 in as many tournaments - already 1 more than he had during Winter. As his home course in Winthrop is finally open for practice and he got his first round in at Pongapoag he might be doing the fine tuning necessary to get his game going.
If it weren't for Freeside's back-to-back wins to start the Spring it would be an awfully hard thing to say that Tomte wasn't the hottest player on the Fantasy Tour right now. She would finish T5 last week in her inaugural Major and now, in just her last 6 starts, has an incredible 5 Top 10s, 2 Top 3s and 1 win. The age of Tomte has dawned.
The Gophers and Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray also snatched their 2nd Top 10 in as many weeks. For The Gophers it has actually caused him to lose ground but not by much. His pace is sufficient enough to hold his season lead, for now. The Doctor looks to make some gains on his performance last segment and progress last week except for his poor lack of substitutions. Leaving Phil on the bench the whole way through caused him to miss out on great rounds and 10 bonus points.
It's only 2 weeks into the new segment but the tables have already begun to turn. Teams that found themselves on the bottom half last segment are now finding themselves much closer to the top. Whiny Little Pitch and Shanks fa Nuffin have both advanced their stock and are finding themselves inside the Top 15 and Top 10, respectively. Danny Noonan, BevGin&Tonic and Rebels all find themselves a little better off to start the Spring while T-Off-Killah, Baby Draw and Hogan's Heros are not happy with their fall from grace. But as I said, we're only 2 weeks in.
Eat My Grind seems to pop up every once in a while to snag a Top 10 and then disappear back down the rabbit hole. He did just that at Augusta last week with a T10 finish and got his 4th Top Ten overall. When will Eat My Grind be seen or heard from again no one knows.
Talkeetna98 is the Hunter Mahan of the First Timers League. His consistency is unmatched as last year he racked up 4 wins and 12 Top 3s and this year he is keeping the pace with 7 Top 10s, 3 Top 3s and 1 win. Whether it be the practice time on the course or Golden Tee he has found the necessary groove to consistently compete on Tour.
This week the Tour heads even farther up the east coast into South Carolina. It'll be the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head where Plaid Nation rules and Baby Draw is the defending champ. I'd suspect several key players will be taking breather for this one following the hectic Masters week but there'll be not breathing room in fantasy. Crucial points are on the line as the Spring is well underway.
| 13 | Shell Houston Open | $10.00 | Freeside Links |
| 14 | The Masters | $20.00 | Freeside Links |
| 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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