Kikakee Finally Breaks Through and Jowls Becomes 3rd Two-Time Winner

If you've been on the Fantasy Tour for any length of time you've no doubt realized the difficulty in claiming the title of champion. Even the ones who have won still have to stare down a probability of less than 5% that they will be the champion in any given week. And thus the grinder was born. It's been mentioned before that in order to win it takes every tool in the tool shed to be running on all cylinders. One of these tools of course being lady luck. But even she isn't always enough. Some teams on the fTour seem to have a fancy new tool set that they're working with each week and somehow manage to get the job done more times than not. Others seem to be working with Grandpa's old hand-me-down set from 1950 and can't seem to find the 14 mm wrench when they need it. Such is the case for Phil Mickelson and the U.S. Open. He has tried every wrench and wedge in the tool chest to try and wrestle a title from the U.S. Open but nothing seems to fit. He's won a total of 42 times on Tour so he's not without the prestige. At 44 years of age though many believe he is passed his prime and no longer able to keep hammering away at the U.S. Open Championship Trophy in an attempt to carve his name on the side. But sometimes those old tools in Grandpa's toolbox just happen to be the perfect fit. Phil will keep hammering away in a couple months but on the fTour last week at the RBC Heritage one grinder and one past champion both happened to find that perfect tool. 

Kikakee Tees was the 5th ranked player in the league at the close of the Winter Segment. He'd been grinding out the cold months, putting in his dues and accumulating Top 10s - 5 in all. Yet despite his success he could not seem to break the chains of the Top 10 duldrums and get into the trade winds that would bring him into the Top 3. He picked up where he left off at the start of the Spring by snagging another Top 10 in the Segment's first tournament. But like Phil winning the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open - it was no U.S. Open and for Kikakee it was no Top 3. Kikakee came into Hilton Head for the RBC Heritage with high hopes. He polished off the old wrenches and went to work. Only subbing twice all week he had the good sense to send Furyk out there for all 4 rounds - one of only a few teams to do so. Kuchar was his main support and provided the firepower to keep him in contention all week. After missing many an opportunity to close things out on Sunday Kikakee finally mustered the courage to take it all the way home. He would co-win the RBC Heritage and capture his first title and a split of the winnings. He must have felt a little like Furyk after watching his put go down on the 2nd playoff hole. Congrats Kikakee Tees. 

                                         

One cannot look at Phil's career for too long and still feel bad that he hasn't won the U.S. Open yet. He has of course been one of the most successful players on Tour and has a bevy of wins and a boat load of money to go with it. One could even argue that Phil's equivalent on the Fantasy Tour is another multiple winner with a "boat load" of money, relatively speaking as his yearly income so far puts him in 4th for earnings. Jowls had a rough year in 2014 going winless throughout the season but the veteran has certainly improved upon that record this year in a much harder field. He surprised many by missing a round on Saturday after his active B player missed the cut and didn't get another player in there till Sunday. Despite that slip up he still managed to get mucho points from Furyk and Kuchar. Jowls would have had the opportunity to take the win by himself had he made the missed cut sub earlier but that's just the way the golfing gods planned it out. Jowls begins the Spring Segment off on the right foot by getting a win early and hopes to continue this meaty pace as the Segment rolls on. He now has 6 Top 10s, 3 Top 3s and 2 wins - one of only 3 players in the league with multiple wins so far. Congratulations Jowls.

Another league veteran had a chance at the win on Sunday but would fall just 2 points shy of her own title. Show & Dough showed promise all week long with her battle hardened veterans in Furyk and Kuchar. The Show made two subs all week and capitalized on Furyk's bonus points to get her first Top 3 in 7 weeks. It was a long drought for The Show but she is glad to be back. She lines up with a 5/2/0 record for Top 10s, 3s and wins and now looks to cross the threshold into the win category fairly soon. 

Notables:

There weren't many notables at the RBC Heritage last week as most of the teams would accumulate their lowest score so far this Segment causing it to be their dropped score. Many hope that this will remain as the dropped score since nearly half the field failed to break 100 points. The Rug Munchers, Big Easy, Show and Dough, Ratrick Peed, Larry Philpot, Darth Fader, Tour Ball and Night Putting were the unlucky souls who will have to keep this score since Non-Entries and poor performances have already claimed their dropped score for the Spring. 

Baby Draw had hopes of defending his title and keeping his plaid jacket but it was not meant to be. He made a effort though as he fought his way into 7th place and gets his 1st Top 10 of the Spring. The Baby looks to improve upon his Winter but that will be a tough act to follow with a line of 8/3/1. 

Larry Philpot makes an appearance on the Top 10 with a 10th place finish. He only managed to accumulate 2 Top 10s in the Winter so he's on pace to do better than that already. It'll take a continual onslaught though to work his way up the leaderboard so he'll have to make sure he motivates his boys. 

It should be no surprise that the league leading Gophers found his way into the Top 10 last week with a 6th place finish. He's a perfect 3 for 3 in Top 10s so far this Spring and he is eager to take the lead his second consecutive Segment. He'll have plenty of competition though.

Talkeetna98 remains to be one of the surest bets in the league to finish well as he's never let more than two weeks go by before at least finishing in the Top 10. This was his 8th Top 10 overall and 2nd of the Spring. 

This week the pros turn their private jets, buses and cars towards New Orleans as the Zurich Classic is next on the agenda. Night Putting reigns supreme in New Orleans and has a chance to be the first to successfully defend his title. He's got his work cut out for him though as his game isn't quite where he would like it to be. Will Night Putting take a page out of Andrew Jackson's book and defend the city of New Orleans from invading outsiders or will it fall to a newcomer? The Spring's 4th tournament is nearing its start time.