Freeside had his back up against the wall to start the AT&T Byron Nelson on Thursday. A last minute withdraw from Ian Poulter left him 1 player short of a full roster. Add to that 2 additional players who missed the cut and he would finish the tournament with only 5 eligible players. But they were the right players. He subbed his men with masterful cunning - never missing a lower round - and capitalized on his final sub on Sunday to send Palmer in and English to the bench. This move, one could say, single-handedly got him the win. In a week where no one picked the winner any bonus points accrued were hard to come by. Charley Hoffman was the favorite pick among bonus points winners and Freeside rode him hard all 4 rounds. He would go on to post 200 points and out dual his closest competitor by just 6 points. It was another solid performance from Freeside and he now begins to twist the flag even deeper under ground on top of Segment-Leader Mountain. Interestingly enough it was exactly one year ago (in golf weeks) that Freeside won his first tournament. In 8 short Spring weeks he has gone from 0 wins to 3 and now leads the league in that category. His slash line is 8/5/3 and he now has a new zip code as he's moved into the Top 10 territory for the first time. Congrats Freeside Links.
It was a close runner-up finish for the grinder Rebels and one that nearly paid off. He had the fire power to storm the beach but waited a bit to long to send in his troops - some never even reached the beach head. Dustin and Charley led the charge with Koepka providing artillery support. His other officer was Snedeker but apparently Brandt never showed up to the starting roster and he had to be shot for cowardice. It would be a final round sub that proved to be Rebels' undoing as he sent Koepka to the bench as English took command. Harris led an ill fated charge up Sunday's slopes with massive loss of life - he shot 4 over. Still, it was a positive sign for the Segment's 15th place holder. It was his second Top 3 of the season and 3rd Top 10. He hadn't appeared in the Top 10 since another runner-up finish to Chubbs Peterson at the Northern Trust Open in week 7. In a post round interview responding to his naysayers Rebels said, "Gunga la gunga."
In a dramatic three-way tie for 3rd at 190 points was Whiny Little Pitch, Where Eagles Dare and The Gophers. In what has been a relatively quiet Spring for the Season leader, Gophers snaged his first Top 3 of the Segment after getting 4 Top 10s in 7 Spring tournaments. On his 8th attempt at the Byron Nelson he broke into the Top 3 but he's still hungry for another win. Whiny is on another one of her hot streaks as this marks her 3rd Top 3 in the last 4 tournaments. She is still without a win but has been knocking at the door persistently for some time now. One would figure she'll be let into the champion's house pretty soon. This would be Eagles' first time as a member of the Triumvirate and it was a long time coming. Eagles had a rough Winter but he's put in the work this Spring and it's paid off as he currently sits in the Segment's 5th place. A big push in the final 4 weeks could get him to the top.
Notables:
Better Than Most is starting to live up to his name as he's now recorded 4 Top 10s in his last 5 starts. The problem is that 3 of them have been T9s and he is still searching for that elusive first Top 3. It's progress though and he currently holds down the Spring's 10th position. BTM is a voracious sub'er, often times letting his entire roster see playing time, so one of these days the stars are sure to align for his first win. Or they won't. Either way he'll go down subing.
Kikakee Tees shows his fangs as his strikes yet again for his 5th Top 10 of the Spring with a 6th place finish. The Tees also has 2 Top 3s and 1 win snuggled into the Spring. He's been solid throughout the Season and shows no signs of faltering. It was a rare week for Kikakee though as it was his first tournament all season without making any substitutions. The birdies must have been dropping on the real course to take Kikakee's attention off the fantasy course.
Show and Dough has a nice little streak going as well and matches BTM's 4 Top 10s in 5 weeks but then does him one better as she has 5 Top 10s in 6 starts. The Show went quiet during the Winter to Spring transition but has come alive and is hunting once again. She's currently in 9th place for the Spring and has a beat on a first-place prize buck. Problem is it might be just out of her range at 136 paces away.
Tour Ball is like one of those semi-regular guests on a late night talk show who is always good for a story. Like that time he won back in week 6 at the AT&T Pro-Am or that time he nearly won at the Sony Open in week 2. He's the Orville Moody of fantasy golf and the Don Rickles of late night. Tour Ball is sure to make another appearance at some point. But it's a nice 8th place finish for now.
If Tour Ball is a rare bird then Chubbs Peterson is a New Caledonian Owlet-nightjar. This is Chubbs' first spotting inside the Top 10 since his T9 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in week 11. He's only been spotted a total of 4 times here but he made two of them count with wins coming at the HTOC (week 1) and NTO (week 7). He was 1 of 4 players to consciously pick 2nd place finisher Jimmy Walker which got Chubbs a spot in the Top 10. Chubbs is one win away from earning back his money and then some.
Talkeetna98 continues to be a threat as he's now on a 3 week Top 10 tear and has never gone more than two weeks without one. He's just over 100 points back from the Spring lead and has his sights set on higher ground. He made two crucial moves in the 4th round on Sunday to get a T9 at Byron Nelson. He sent Thomas and English to the bench while getting Hoffman and Palmer into the action. These two moves got him 26 extra points and he keeps the streak going.
This week is the Memorial Tournament at Jack's Muirfield Village in Dublin, OH. Strangers is the reigning champ at Jack's Place as this tournament marked an uncanny 3rd win in a row for Strangers one year ago. Tiger's back in the field this week along with Greg Chalmers, Jason Gore and Aiken Thomas. But who cares. All eyes will turn to Spieth once again as he's hot off his worst finish in a complete tournament this year... a T30. Rob Bolton has Pat Perez as a top sleeper and it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Sleepers, however, rarely ever are good ideas. Whiny is gunning to take the Spring lead from Freeside, Hogan's and Kikakee need to get something going if they're going to make a move, and BevGin&Tonic and 2 Footer are trying to get inside the Top 10 before the close. Saddle up for Jack's place as the Spring starts to wind down with the final 4 tournaments.
Memorial Power Rankings
1. Whiny Little Pitch
2. Talkeetna98
3. Freeside Links
4. Kikakee Tees
5. Show and Dough
6. Hogan's Heros
7. The Gophers
8. Papa Pilgrim
9. The Rug Munchers
10. Better Than Most
Bonus Points Leaderboard
| Team | Bonus Points | Winner Picks (8) |
| Spring Segment | ||
| Whiny Little Pitch | 160 | 6 |
| Where Eagles Dare | 160 | 5 |
| Show and Dough | 130 | 4 |
| Hogan's Heros | 120 | 4 |
| Talkeetna98 | 120 | 5 |
| Kikakee Tees | 100 | 4 |
| Freeside Links | 100 | 3 |
| 2 Footer | 90 | 4 |
| Dr. Vijay's Antler Spray | 90 | 4 |
| Brookline (Golf) Ballers | 90 | 3 |
| The Gophers | 90 | 3 |
| Chubbs Peterson | 90 | 3 |
| BevGin&Tonic | 90 | 2 |
| That's Wet! | 80 | 3 |
| Rug Munchers | 80 | 3 |
| Baby Draw Part 2 | 70 | 2 |
| Jowls | 70 | 3 |
| Papa Pilgrim | 70 | 3 |
| Strangers | 70 | 3 |
| Eat My Grind | 70 | 2 |
| T-Off-Killah | 60 | 2 |
| Tomte | 60 | 2 |
| Better Than Most | 60 | 1 |
| Ratrick Peed | 60 | 2 |
| Rebels | 60 | 2 |
| Shanks fa Nuffin | 60 | 2 |
| Danny Noonan | 50 | 2 |
| Larry Philpot | 40 | 1 |
| Geeteeo | 40 | 1 |
| Big Easy | 30 | 1 |
| Tour Ball | 30 | 1 |
| Night Putting | 30 | 1 |
| Darth Fader | 0 | 0 |
| Carl Spackler | 0 | 0 |
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