Chubbs Peterson Ends 28 Week Drought With Huge Win at the BMW

The year was 1961. Jerry Barber had been playing professional golf for just 13 years but he was already well advanced in years as far as professional golfers go. At the ripe old golfing age of 45 he set foot onto one of golf's biggest stages as the 43rd PGA Championship was set to be played at Olympia Fields CC outside of Chicago. The big boys had come to play: Slammin Sammy Snead, 3 time Major Champion Denny Shute, Gene "The Machine" Littler, past PGA Champion Vic Ghezzi and 10 time PGA Tour winner Don January. Barber had won on Tour before but he was getting on in years and no one expected the 5'5'' 137 pounder to be a real contender. But he just so happened to have one trick up his sleeve: his magic putter. After playing 33 holes on Sunday due to a postponed 2nd round Jerry found himself 4 back of leader Don January with 3 to play and all but out of the running for the championship. But despite what should have been a sure win for January, Barber said afterwards that he "actually never lost the idea that [he] might win it - even when [he] was four strokes back on Sunday with 3 holes to play." That's when the magic putter of Barber came to life. Over his last three holes he would need just three putts to get home. On 16 he stared down a 20 footer for birdie that he sent plunging into the hole. On 17, after January stumbled with a bogey, he stood over a 40 foot par putt that he somehow willed into its subterranean home to come within a single stroke of the lead. Both golfer's tee shots on 18 found the fairway but only Barber made it home in two. While January played it conservatively after hitting into a green side bunker and two putted for bogey it opened the door for Jerry to pull even as he lined up a 60 foot putt for birdie. He gave the ball a wallop, hurrying it across the fuzzy green. The ball was tracking, rolling perfectly on line. As it approached the cup it found caught the left edge, dipped below the horizon and rolled in. Jerry Barber had done the improbable - he made up a 4 stroke deficit with 3 to play to force an 18 hole Monday playoff (which he won on the 18th playoff hole). He became, at the time, the oldest Major Champion at the age of 45. It was improbable. It was unlikely. It was unexpected. But then again, so was Chubbs Peterson. 

Chubbs Peterson is a weathered veteran. He's seen fantasy seasons (2) come and go. Much like Barber, Peterson's first win didn't come until he was a battle scared veteran of the league. He won early in the 2015 season at the Hyundai TOC and the Northern Trust but then went dormant for a long while. No one seemed to talk much about Chubbs Peterson through this period as it was rumored he'd lost his fantasy swing. But if Jerry Barber were alive now, he'd advise against counting out an old pro. Like many players Chubbs was using his last start with Day and Spieth for the season's penultimate championship. He also fielded Na and McIlroy and never subbed once. In a post round interview Chubbs said he thought about moving people around but decided to trust his instincts. And they did not disappoint. He marched out to an early lead and held onto it the whole way through. It would be Chubbs Peterson's day once again. After going 28 long weeks in the fantasy doldrums he finally broke through again at the BMW Championship for his 3rd win of the Season. He had been gathering a full head of steam to this point as he'd accumulated 5 Top 10s and 1 Top 3 in his previous 8 starts. And then, like an Iberian Lynx, he pounced; tearing away his 3rd championship of the year and a big paycheck at the BMW Championship. Chubbs now has a slash line of 11/4/3. He's been a surprising multi-winner on Fantasy Tour this year as his overall stats have been lacking. But at the end of the day he's racked up $30 in earnings (T5th), is T3 in Wins with 3, 7th in Strokes Gained: Total Summer Bonus at 4.57 above average and T4th in total winners picked (13). Congrats Chubbs Peterson. 

Despite Chubbs' leading through most of the tournament it was a close finish and one that was only decided by a mere 4 points. Thrashing at Chubbs' heals all the way would be 3 second place finishers as Baby Draw, Rebels and Freeside Links all tied with 206 points. Multi-winner Baby Draw was the most feared competitor among the finalists as he'd already won twice and is currently ranked 5th for the Season. He seems to like the stage at the BMW Championship as he's now two-for-two in Top 3s after a T3 here last year. He is also just 36 points out of a paid position for the Season as That's Wet currently holds down the 4th spot overall. With 18 Top 10s and 7 Top 3s he was hungry for his 3rd win but it would not come. Freeside had a legitimate claim to a run for another championship as the Green Jacket owner and 4 time champion slugged his way to his 7th Top 3 finish. But he's currently ranked 4th in Season earnings and many would say he's had his fill. The most unlikely of the runners-up was Rebels who has been prone to make an appearance in the Top 10 but rarely in the Top 3. This was only his 3rd Top 3 of the Season and 7th Top 10. A final round sub to put in either Bubba or Zach would have gotten him his first championship but it was not meant to be. Such is life on Fantasy Tour. 

Race to the Segment Championship

It was an off week for the big guns on the Fantasy Tour as none of the Segment's top 3 teams made an appearance in the Top 10 - a very rare occurrence indeed. Hogan's had a down week and lost his Summer lead - dropping 15 points behind the new Summer leader Night Putting. Night Putting had the best week of the 3 by putting up 50 more points than Hogan's and 14 more points than Tomte. But it just goes to show that when it's this close it's anybody's game. Tomte has the strongest position of the top 3 right now as she's still got starts left with Day, Spieth and Dustin while Night Putting has only Spieth and Dustin and Hogan's has none. Fourteen and fifteen points separate Tomte and Hogan's from the leader, respectively. It's a toss up heading into the final week as a lead like that can disappear in a single round. Big money and high praise are on the line as all three competitors enter the final week of the Segment and Season chomping at the bit. Do the players stick with their Season strategy or will they go rogue in the final week? Can Hogan's mount a charge without starts from 3 key players? Will Tomte become the first female fantasy golfer to win a Segment? Or will Night Putting be the first to successfully defend a Segment Championship? It all comes down to one week. To the draft room!

Notables

Season Earnings

It was another close-but-no-cigar finish for T-Off-Killah as the grinder continued to hunt for that elusive win by snagging an 8th place finish. He's put together 3 Top 10s in 3 weeks as he tries to break through but he keeps missing by a handful of points. He'll have one more shot to put his name in the 2015 records books as the Tour Championship gets underway in Atlanta this week. Keep an eye on T-Off-Killah as he'll have nothing to lose and everything to gain in his rookie year swan song performance. 


Another erstwhile grinder who managed to find himself in a semi-occasional Top 10 role is Better Than Most as the all around middle-of-the-road player is hoping to grasp a single title before year's end as well. He's at an advantage over the field as he's budgeted his starts with Day, Spieth and Dustin but if the rule he played by got him to this, what good is the rule? He'll look to break out the big guns one final time at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. 


The only other mainstay on the Top 10 last week as far as perpetual contenders goes was the 2014 Season Champ Strangers. He battled his way to a T5 finish which seems to be a familiar finish in the second half for him. He did most of his damage early on in the Season - getting his lone shared-win in week 12 at the Valero Texas Open. He's had his best Segment in Strokes Gained: Total Summer Bonus with 3.57 points/week above average. But this stat is skewed as many players who've mailed in the Season are causing this category to be inflated. The Fantasy media have reported that Strangers will be handing over the Jackson Cup this week to the Fantasy Committee Chair so that it can be engraved and polished for the 2015 Champion.

BMW Top 10

Staking a claim to his 9th Top 10 was BevGin&Tonic as the occasional contender can pack a punch when he wants to. He had a stint back in the Season where he was on vacation for a while but then returned to the Fantasy Tour to grind it out. He's managed to snag 4 Top 3s along the way which is in the 50th percentile of the league so it nothing get down about. Bev should be able to rustle up that first win next Season as sometimes it take a year to settle in on strategy. 

Eat My Grind came in 9th last week for his 9th Top 10 of 2015. He's had a mediocre year by only carding 1 Top 3 which came back in week 19 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Grind hasn't quite racked up the finishes or stats to be labeled a grinder but he's close. A few more Top 10s and consistent finishes would be him in that category but there's always next year where payouts will extend to the 3rd place finisher each week. 

Top 15: Non-Winner Bonus Points Avg/Week (sorted by Summer rankings)

Wrapping up the Top 10 was the rare appearance of Danny Noonan. Last we saw Danny around these parts wasn't that long ago but it's so infrequent we never know when he'll grace the Top 10 with his presence. This is only his 4th Top 10 but amazingly it's his 2nd in 3 weeks. This is quite some tear for Noonan and if recent trends from Chubbs Peterson have shown us anything this could be a sign of a Noonan win next week. If you're the betting type you'll know to stay away from these odds but there's always something alluring about the long shot. If Noonan keeps his roster the same he'll be sending the big guns out there once again but the only trouble is he's got no starts with Bubba left. Let's hope for Danny's sake that he puts Henrik in the A spot. 

The Tour Championship will have more than due for the final stage of the Fantasy Season as our 36 week journey is coming to a close. There have been a few firsts over the course of this Season (Chubbs Peterson winning after not updating his roster), some epic charges and some monumental meltdowns. With a larger field this Season many teams will walk away less than satisfied after not garnering a win. But in the works for next season are payouts to the Top 3 finishers for each week. Still, there's one more paycheck to be handed out in Atlanta. Better Than Most is the defending champ here from last year as he looks to sneak in a single win for 2015. It's literally anybody's game if you can update a roster so send your best squad out there one more time (if you've got any starts left with them) and win just one for the Gipper. May the best fantasy golfer win.