Journeyman '2 Footer' finally breaks through at The Players Championship

'Good things come to those who wait' is an old saying dating back to the days of yore when Vikings cruised the high seas and barbarian hordes controlled the Silk Road. In those days, when just about everything traveled slow, it could take years to reach a vacation destination, let alone receive a birthday card in the mail. The nomads of the Eurasian Steppe were known to send Mother's Day cards years in advance - many of which would never make it. Fast forward several thousand years to the invention of fantasy golf and what you have is a microcosm of that old world condensed down into a single season. In a league where 36 weeks can be a lifetime many winless teams at the halfway mark can be prone to undergoing what has been called the Mid-Season Crisis. Teams have been known to do just about anything to avoid these doldrums; from drastically changing up their draft selection process to hysterically yelling at the TV in hopes that a rival player will somehow miss a tap in birdie. Perhaps even offering some advice to their players in person. At The Players Championship last week it marked week #17 of the season and would demarcate an uncomfortable proximity to that mid season cutoff point. 

At the start of the week there were 20 teams without a win and 14 who have already had that honor. Enter 2 Footer. Some would call him a journeyman fantasy golfer - grinding his way through the season - rising and falling with the tide. He was ranked #21 in the league prior to the tournament's start and was without a Top 3. And where the league average for Top 10s is 5.1 he fell below that mark with only 3. He started the tournament with a great first round but would go on to turn in less than stellar rounds on Friday and Saturday. He would be in the thick of it though with the likes of Strangers, Dr. Vijay's and Whiny Little Pitch as all were trying to claim the lead. It would prove to be strange week for missed cuts though as most teams following the Friday cut were unable to send a full roster out for Saturday. This doomed many who were in contention as their chance to win quickly dissipated. It would be dueled out in the league's first ever husband (2 Footer) vs. wife (Whiny Little Pitch) showdown in a race to the finish. Whiny banked on McIlroy having a big day with a Sunday charge but all he could muster was a 2 under. 2 Footer went back and forth all week between his A players and missed the better round each time. Both had Fowler on their squad (only 4 teams picked the youngster) and once the playoff started both were guaranteed his bonus points. The difference maker would Sergio Garcia who, despite the hecklers, drained a 40 footer on 17 to get into a playoff with Fowler and Kisner. 2 Footer was only 1 of 4 teams to get points from Sergio and he would take the Spaniard's 4 under final round and 2nd place bonus points to the bank and win The Players Championship by 22 points. This is 2 Footer's first win and first Top 3 of the season and he can now join the winner's circle with a long awaited champion's title. Congrats 2 Footer. 

Top 10

For last week's runner up Whiny Little Pitch it was a flashback to the Winter Segment where she couldn't miss. She had started the Spring off slow - going 0-for in Top 10s but on the big stage of The Players she would rise to the occasion. As 1 of only 4 teams to pick Fowler she battled her way through missed cuts and survived the cut line with a full roster (1 of only 5 teams to do so). She needed Zach, Sang-Moon and Rory to go low on Sunday though but neither could go lower than 2 under. The lack of a Sunday charge put her at a disadvantage as her point totals, although good, wouldn't be enough to close the gap. It would be a fantastic return to form for Whiny though after a slow start to the new Segment. Despite not having any Top 10s though this segment she was only 100 points back from the lead as of last Wednesday. By Sunday she has now crept within 16 points of the segment lead by making up over 80 points in a single week. This is her 5th Top 10 overall and despite starting the season 6 weeks late she is on the verge of passing her nearest competitor in the standings. Quite the tear for Whiny Little Pitch. 

It doesn't happen often that a team who is a player short of a full roster after the cut still has enough juice left in the tank to get a Top 3 but if anybody's got the grit to do it it's last year's season champ Strangers. Despite putting his roster on autopilot and not subing the entire week he still managed to get the Fowler bonus points and great support from Horschel and Stenson. One big slip up was having Sergio ride the bench all week which would have gotten him 2nd with the bonus points (and technically could have gotten him the win if he utilized Serg correctly). But it was not meant to be. Strangers will take another Top 3 credit which is his 1st of the Spring and 3rd overall. 

Notables:

In a week where many of the big names missed the cut it was notable just to keep a full roster. Jowls and That's Wet managed to perform this feet as well as winner/runner up 2 Footer and Whiny Little Pitch. Show and Dough had herself a week and got her 3rd Top 10 of the Spring despite missing two rounds from a mis-subbed WD, none of her crew finishing inside the top 10, only 1 of them finishing inside the top 25, and 2 final rounds at 2 over or worse. A Top 10 with those numbers is one hell of a magic trick. 

Dr. Vijay's inches closer to the Segment lead as he scooped up his 4th Top 10 in 5 Spring starts. He looks to be really taking steps to securing his legacy by winning a Segment and he's just about halfway there as he's now in a virtual tie with Freeside Links right around 700 points.   

As the dust begins to settle on the Spring Segment standings there are several familiar faces near the top that surprises no one. One surprise face in the Top 10 though is Better Than Most. After a lackluster Winter he now has 3 Top 10s in 5 starts and is holding down a T8 spot on the big board. And with only 56 points separating 10th from 1st there'll be a lot of room to move around in the Spring's second half. 

That's Wet and The Gophers continue to duke it out over the 1st spot for the season. Both got another Top 10 at The Players as Gophers now has 14 on the season while That's Wet stacks up at 9.  Neither are going anywhere this Spring as both are in the Top 10 there as well. By the time it's all said and done these two might be the top money earners for the year if they can keep it together. 

Rug Munchers got his 2nd Top 10 of the Spring with a T9 and continues to be a constant threat when he wants to. Of his 4 Top 10s on the Season 2 of them are runners-up. That's a pretty good Top 3 percentage when his sites are dialed in. 

It's tough to watch when a team who was once soaring high begins the slow descent back down to earth. For T-Off-Killah it has been such a fall. During the Winter he was like young Icarus - flying through the sky on wax wings - accumulating 7 Top 10s and 2 Top 3s. But alas, he seems to have flown too close to the fantasy sun as his wings are melting and he is falling (down the standings). In 5 Spring tournaments he is without even a Top 10 to his name. If he can reshape those wings and rise as the phoenix once again only time will tell. 

Next up this week is the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in North Carolina. We have yet to have a defending champ actually defend so perhaps it's time. Baby Draw Part Two will have the honors as he won in resounding fashion here last year. There is no runaway leader of the Segment this Spring so it's still anybody's game.