It's a safe assumption that Rug Munchers is heating up. Just two weeks ago at The Players and then last week at the Wells Fargo he carded back-to-back Top Tens which were his 4th and 5th of the season. Despite the handicap of starting the season late in week 7 he quickly got up to speed and accumulated a couple solid finishes before the snow melted. Now that Spring has sprung he's back in the saddle and has put himself in contention for the Spring with 4 Top 10s and 2 Top 3s. The biggest finish of course coming last week with his first win of the season. He started Spieth from the outset - paying no never-mind to the fact that he only had 3 starts with him left. He put Kirk in on Friday and the rest would be history. He wouldn't make any more changes throughout the weekend as he'd found his squad and he'd stick with 'em. It would get pretty hairy towards the end and by the time all was said and done Munchers would grasp victory by a margin of only 2 points. It was a gutsy win and a brilliant roster selection which gave him the one-two finishers of the tournament and 30 bonus points to stack on top. The Munchers now has 6 Top 10s, 2 Top 3s and 1 win to go with 'em as he now stands in 13th place for the Segment and is only 118 points back from the lead. With 5 weeks to go it might be just enough time to make a push to higher ground. Congrats Rug Munchers.
Runner up Baby Draw Part Two returns to the Top 3 circle for the first time since week 11. The Baby has been a solid player throughout, peppering the season with 10 Top 10s, 4 Top 3s and 1 win. He left the roster on autopilot at Crowne Plaza and it was about as good of a result as you can ask for. It was risky though as he left Kisner on the bench the whole week and barely dodged a missed opportunity for bonus points as Kisner ended up finishing 5th. The Baby will take this one all the way to the bank though as he stands alone in 7th for the season and he'll need to drop it into gear if he's going to make a run at the leader.
A pair of T3s wrap up the Top 3 at Crowne as hot shot Whiny Little Pitch and the nomad Eat My Grind both came in at 218 points to snag a shared 3rd place finish. The Grind is just that - a grinder. He doesn't show up on the recaps very often but it's always a special moment when he gets some air time. He last graced us with his presence at The Masters with a 10th place finish but before that it was all the way back in week 7. This is The Grind's first Top 3 and 5th Top 10 overall. He's making progress on getting into some cash as he creeps ever closer to his first win. On the other end of the spectrum is the Top 10 frequenter Whiny Little Pitch. This is Whiny's 3rd Top 3 of the season and despite a start to the Spring's first half with no Top 10s she is now 2 for 3 in Top 3s over 3 weeks. It's a nice little run for Whiny and one that has her currently sitting in a tie for 2nd place for the Spring. It might not be long before we see Freeside get dethroned as Segment front runner.
Notables:
Perhaps the chastising write-ups over the past couple weeks have lit a spark under T-Off-Killah as he seems to have recovered from his mid-season slump. The Winter Segment powerhouse went 6 long weeks without a Top 10 but he has now garnered two in the past two weeks. It's a good sign for the scrappy mathematician as he looks to formulate a plan and get back into the action.
What can be said about Hogan's Heros that hasn't already been said? He's streaking right now and it'll be a tough sell to bet against him for the Spring Segment Championship. He snagged his 5th Top 10 of the Spring and 2nd Top 3 and he now sits tied for 2nd with Whiny and is just 38 points back from Freeside. In the author's opinion there are 8 teams with a legitimate shot at catching the leader and 5 with a gambling chance. This Segment will prove to be far more exciting as it looks like it may come down to the wire with only 5 weeks left.
Talkeetna98 is one of those teams that finds himself with a legitimate shot at the Championship as he currently sits only 76 points back. If he keeps going to work and slinging rounds like he did at Crowne Plaza then he might find himself neck and neck in the final couple weeks.
It was a valiant Sunday charge by Chubbs Peterson as he accrued 70 final round points with the bonus. He was the only one with Kirk and Spieth who didn't finish in the Top 10 (Tour Ball had Kirk but didn't get him off the bench) but came within 4 points of sneaking in. He's a classic weekend warrior as he'll occasionally break out the big guns. Look for the two time champ to start streaking at some point.
2 Footer and Better Than Most are cozy'ing up real close as both shared a 9th place finish at Crowne and both are now tied for 10th on the Spring leaderboard. This is Better Than Most's 4th Top 10 of the Spring which is night and day to his lackluster Winter. He'll take the gambler's chance though and continue to plod away in search of his first Top 3 and win. 2 Footer already has the experience of a Fantasy Tour champion and but like everyone is hungry for more. This one is his 3rd Top 10 in a row with his lone victory coming at the start of this streak. He's in the middle of a hot spell right now and the last thing he wants to do is cool off. He'll look to keep that heat as he stays in Texas for this week's AT&T Byron Nelson.
It's just about a 30 minute drive from Fort Worth to Irving, Texas as the Tour takes the short trip west for the AT&T Byron Nelson. It's one of the few tournaments named after one of the game's greats and the pros are sure to show up. Spieth is back again and looking for that first win on home soil. DJ is another hot hand and one who is sure to grace the roster of many teams this week. Last year it was Strangers who conquered the TPC Four Seasons at the Byron Nelson and we'll see if we can get the year's first successful defense.
Week 19 Power Rankings
1. Hogan's Heros
2. Whiny Little Pitch
3. Talkeetna98
4. The Rug Munchers
5. Kikakee Tees
6. Baby Draw
7. Where Eagles Dare
8. Strangers
9. Tomte
10. T-Off-Killah
Spring Schedule
| Shell Houston Open | $10.00 | Freeside Links |
| The Masters | $20.00 | Freeside Links |
| RBC Heritage | $10.00 | Kikakee Tees/Jowls |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | $10.00 | BevGin&Tonic |
| The Players Championship | $10.00 | 2 Footer |
| Wells Fargo Championship | $10.00 | Hogan's Heros |
| Crowne Plaza Invitational | $10.00 | Rug Munchers |
| AT&T Byron Nelson Championship | $10.00 | |
| The Memorial Tournament | $10.00 | |
| Fedex St. Jude Classic | $10.00 | |
| U.S. Open | $20.00 | |
| Travelers Championship | $10.00 |
Earnings (green = paid, red = unpaid)
| Team Name | Earnings |
| The Gophers | $70.00 |
| Freeside Links | $30.00 |
| Chubbs Peterson | $20.00 |
| Hogan's Heros | $20.00 |
| Jowls | $15.00 |
| 2 Footer | $10.00 |
| Baby Draw Part 2 | $10.00 |
| BevGin&Tonic | $10.00 |
| Hill Baas | $10.00 |
| Talkeetna98 | $10.00 |
| That's Wet! | $10.00 |
| The Rug Munchers | $10.00 |
| Tour Ball | $10.00 |
| Kikakee Tees | $5.00 |
| Strangers | $5.00 |
| Tomte | $5.00 |
| Better Than Most | |
| Big Easy | |
| Brookline (Golf) Ballers | |
| Carl Spackler | |
| Danny Noonan | |
| Darth Fader | |
| Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray | |
| Eat My Grind | |
| Geeteeo | |
| Larry Philpot | |
| Night Putting | |
| Papa Pilgrim | |
| Rebels | |
| Shanks fa Nuffin | |
| Show and Dough | |
| T-Off-Killah | |
| Where Eagles Dare | |
| Whiny Little Pitch |
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