Race to the
Summer Segment
Championship
Tour Championship
Last week the PGA turned all its attention on the East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta as the Tour Championship was about to wrap up the season. There were just 30 players who'd tallied up enough points to be eligible for this money making event. With the tournament winner most likely to be the Fedex Cup Champ there were copious amounts of money to be made. If anyone had fantasy starts left with Day and Spieth they were most certainly going to use them. Dustin had lost some luster leading up to East Lake but many threw him in the mix as well. Rory, Henrik, Bubba, Justin, Patrick, Kevin - they were all there. And as the tournament entered the weekend it would be a most peculiar situation as the 3 fantasy teams vying for the Tour Championship were also the ones vying for the Summer Segment Championship as well. Things were about as tight as they could be by the end of Saturday's round. Before the week started Night Putting held a lead of 14 points over Tomte and 16 points over Hogan's Heros. Hogan's would be the first casualty as he began to fade on Sunday after sending the wrong players into battle. He was also lacking any starts with Spieth who was leading the tournament but still trying to soldier on without him. Hogan's would have to wait as attention was turned to the main event: Tomte vs. Night Putting - Summer Segment Championship Edition.
Tomte and Night Putting were in a battle for the ages, going blow for blow as Watson and Stenson (their respective A players) clawed away for every mid range chip and 2 foot putt. Bubba would make key birdies on 14 & 15 and then salvage a lengthy par putt on 17 to get to 3 under where he would finish. With only 8 points separating Night Putting and Tomte to begin the day, Bubba gave Tomte a shot in the arm while Stenson was struggling to make putts for his handler. By the 17th hole they were all tied up: 210 to 210 as Stenson made his way down the fairway. Night Putting needed Henrik to par his way home for a shared Segment tie or birdie 1 of the final two holes to claim the championship for himself. Stenson had a short wedge shot into the green on 17 when he did the unthinkable. Rarely seen on the PGA Tour, Stenson shanked it into the gallery. He followed that shot up with a weak chip and then 3 putted for double bogey. And despite a lengthy birdie putt on 18 it would be a case of too little too late as Tomte, one of the hottest players on Fantasy Tour, squeezed out what undoubtedly was the most dramatic championship of the season. And just as Jordan Spieth held up multiple trophies after the Tour Championship, so too did Tomte as she took home her 3rd tournament victory and becomes the first female fantasy golfer to win a Segment as she now reigns as the Summer Segment Champion. Congrats Tomte.
Despite much of the attention during the Tour Championship being on the outcome of the Summer Segment race there was a developing story line that very nearly grabbed front page headlines. The trend of first time winners over the Summer was heating up in August as Dr. Vijay's and Whiny Little Pitch combined for back to back wins from first timers. The old order quickly fell back into place once the heavy weights started winning again but last week at East Lake it nearly happened again as Show and Dough caught fire in Atlanta. The Show went into hiding for most of the Summer, making a single appearance in the Top 10 at the The Quicken Loans National. But prior to that she had a runner-up finish at the US Open so it seems she was pining for a big finish on a big stage and the Tour Championship was just such a setting. The Show started big with Spieth, Day and Bubba - keeping pace with the leader into the weekend. But by making only two subs for the final round she made a fatal mistake that cost her the tournament. She kept Rosey on the bench throughout the tournament and his T2 finish cost her 10 extra bonus points and her first championship. Lesson learned: always put in potential bonus point finishers. It was a near miss for the 13 time Top 10 finisher and an overall reversal of her 2014 Summer hunting habits when she virtually contended each week. There's always next year.
The story line could have been very different last week for Night Putting as the Summer Segment leader through 11 weeks was primed for a successful Segment defense. His 2014 bid for the title propelled him well above his competition as he ran away with the Segment and practically won the Summer before the Fedex Cup Playoffs even started. This year would be different though as Night Putting found himself in a cosmic clash with with worthy opponents. He was cautious about his subs to start the week and was just trying to avoid a blow-up round from one of his players. He had a 14 point lead to start the week and by Saturday night he still maintained a lead of 8 points. It would all come down to Sunday for the defending champ as he carefully weighed his options for substitutions. He'd made a mistake on Saturday by not getting Fowler into the action and now was forced to play him on Sunday for a shot at potential bonus points from the young hipster. He made room by sending Zach to the bench and Night Putting proceeded to watch Fowler completely fall apart. He still clung to a 2 point lead though as the last group entered the back 9. But with a Tomte/Bubba birdie on 16 and a Stenson double bogey on 17 it would be a case of the dreaded Sunday meltdown as Night Putting could only watch his Segment hopes crumble before his very eyes. The tragic loss of the Summer means that Night Putting will finish the season with zero wins (an impressive position to be in without a single win though). It was a valiant effort from the league veteran and he'll look to make another stab at a Segment Championship in 2016.
Despite much of the attention during the Tour Championship being on the outcome of the Summer Segment race there was a developing story line that very nearly grabbed front page headlines. The trend of first time winners over the Summer was heating up in August as Dr. Vijay's and Whiny Little Pitch combined for back to back wins from first timers. The old order quickly fell back into place once the heavy weights started winning again but last week at East Lake it nearly happened again as Show and Dough caught fire in Atlanta. The Show went into hiding for most of the Summer, making a single appearance in the Top 10 at the The Quicken Loans National. But prior to that she had a runner-up finish at the US Open so it seems she was pining for a big finish on a big stage and the Tour Championship was just such a setting. The Show started big with Spieth, Day and Bubba - keeping pace with the leader into the weekend. But by making only two subs for the final round she made a fatal mistake that cost her the tournament. She kept Rosey on the bench throughout the tournament and his T2 finish cost her 10 extra bonus points and her first championship. Lesson learned: always put in potential bonus point finishers. It was a near miss for the 13 time Top 10 finisher and an overall reversal of her 2014 Summer hunting habits when she virtually contended each week. There's always next year.
The story line could have been very different last week for Night Putting as the Summer Segment leader through 11 weeks was primed for a successful Segment defense. His 2014 bid for the title propelled him well above his competition as he ran away with the Segment and practically won the Summer before the Fedex Cup Playoffs even started. This year would be different though as Night Putting found himself in a cosmic clash with with worthy opponents. He was cautious about his subs to start the week and was just trying to avoid a blow-up round from one of his players. He had a 14 point lead to start the week and by Saturday night he still maintained a lead of 8 points. It would all come down to Sunday for the defending champ as he carefully weighed his options for substitutions. He'd made a mistake on Saturday by not getting Fowler into the action and now was forced to play him on Sunday for a shot at potential bonus points from the young hipster. He made room by sending Zach to the bench and Night Putting proceeded to watch Fowler completely fall apart. He still clung to a 2 point lead though as the last group entered the back 9. But with a Tomte/Bubba birdie on 16 and a Stenson double bogey on 17 it would be a case of the dreaded Sunday meltdown as Night Putting could only watch his Segment hopes crumble before his very eyes. The tragic loss of the Summer means that Night Putting will finish the season with zero wins (an impressive position to be in without a single win though). It was a valiant effort from the league veteran and he'll look to make another stab at a Segment Championship in 2016.
2015 Fantasy Tour Champion
Over the course of the 2 year history of the First Timers League there has been a large amount of growth. This makes seeing trends between the two years to be somewhat difficult but as the league grows so do the reputations. It's clear that although there is no one dominant player on Fantasy Tour there are several that have figured it out. Perhaps it's their draft strategy or their uncanny 6th sense for substitutions. Most likely it's shear luck but in 2015 two teams picked up where they left off in 2014: Baby Draw and Talkeetna98. Both teams had strong showings in 2014 and then followed it up with 18 Top 10s apiece and 13 Top 3s and 3 wins between them. For some of the newcomers it was a difficult freshman year as many didn't have the stomach to bear their souls on the fantasy golf course week in and week out. Danny Noonan, Big Easy and Shanks fa Nuffin were on a limited schedule from the beginning - meticulously picking and choosing their appearances. But much like the Fedex Cup there are no off weeks on Fantasy Tour. And it paid off in particular for the 4 finalists who took the top four paid positions.
2015 Jackson Cup Winner
The Gophers is the big winner on Fantasy Tour this year. During the course of his freshman campaign he came away with 6 Top 3s and 3 wins and set a blistering pace for Top 10s by collecting 2 Top 10s out of every 3 tournaments for a total of 25 (6 more than the next team). Gophers started the season hot. In his first 7 tournaments he snagged a perfect 7 Top 10s, 2 Top 3s and 1 win. He picked up his second win in week 9 and cruised to the Winter Segment Championship. Gophers laid low
2015 Runner Up - $80
It would be a deserving fantasy golfer who takes the 2nd place position for the 2015 season. Hogan's Heros was arguably the most consistently competitive team on Tour this year as he racked up a staggering 10 Top 3 finishes - 3 more than his closest competitor. He scored 5,603 points on the season which was just 58 points off the pace of the winner. He racked up 4 wins at the Humana, Wells Fargo, Wyndham and Deutsche Bank Championship and snatched 18 Top 10s overall. He was the 2nd highest paid player on fantasy tour in 2015 with $170 in winnings. He's been a consistent player over the league's two year history so look for Hogan's to come back in 2016 with the same winning drive.
3rd Place - $35
For Kikakee Tees, a hot shot player out of Nashville, it was no surprise to be ranked among the top fantasy golfers of 2015 by Fantasy Golf Digest. His consistent play on Tour gave him 5,481 points overall to go along with 17 Top 10s, 4 Top 3 and 2 wins. In his rookie season he was a frequent fixture in the Top 10 and consummate professional fantasy golfer. It was an unfortunate turn of events that resulted in Kikakee sharing both of his wins with another team but in the eyes of Yahoo and everyone in this league - those are still wins. Kikakee is 5th ranked team in earnings in 2015, winning $35 for 3rd placed and taking home a staggering total of $45 for the year. He'll be looking to triple that in 2016.
4th Place - $15
For a few months early on in the Season it looked like That's Wet might be the guy to watch out for. He was the biggest rival to The Gophers for the Winter Segment Championship and he won just his 2nd fantasy golf tournament ever back in week 2 at the Sony Open. He finished the season with 5,468 points which was only 13 points behind 3rd place finisher Kikakee and his 4th place finish at the Tour Championship nearly caused him to eclipse the Tees for 3rd. Unfortunately That's Wet had a mid season lag in the Spring where he finished 16th for the Segment. He quickly rebounded over the Summer to maintain a top tier spot in the standings and he finishes 2015 off on a very positive note. That's Wet will look to maintain his fantasy golf game over the off-season and perhaps grab that elusive Winter Segment Championship upon his return in 2016.
2015 was a spectacular year for the veteran Jowls as he finished up the season with a 6th place finish at the Tour Championship. Jowls took home a league leading 5 wins in only 6 Top 3s. With a record like that one can safely assume that his ability to close is second to none. Coffee is for closers and Jowls will have another cup. Jowls is the highest money earner not to win a Segment and finished 4th in winnings with $65. A successful fantasy golf season by all accounts.
Rounding out the Top 10 at last week's Tour Championship were 3 teams who all came in with 182 points and a T8 finish. Where Eagles Dare was still in pursuit of his first Fantasy Tour win on Sunday but he'll also have to wait for 2016 to roll around. Eagles had 1 runner-up that almost was his first victory but he lost by 6 points at the Wyndham to Hogan's. Eagles will retool during the off season and fine tune his fantasy golf game.
The T8 at East Lake was Papa Pilgrim's 13th Top 10 in 2015 and by his own admission this was a down year. He managed to sneak in one win at the Travelers Championship but when compared to his 2014 championships at The Masters and US Open it was a disappointing year. Still, Papa did finish in 10th place overall so can still lay claim to a decent season ranking. The Pilgrim will head down to Florida over the winter to work with famed fantasy golf coach Hutch Barmon (a distant but equally-known relative of Butch).
Congratulations to everyone on a spectacular 2015 fantasy golf season. Things officially wrapped up last Sunday with the conclusion of the Tour Championship but the First Timers League wrapped things up in their own way at the 2nd Annual First Timers Invitational. Paired in groups of 4, a best ball tournament was played at the Captains Course in Brewster, MA where the winning team of Bob Pandolfi (Hogan's Heros), George Harvell (Kikakee Tees), Paul Same (Talkeetna98) and Tom Stello (Freeside Links) won the tournament and some extra cash. The festivities continued with a cookout and awards ceremony where money was dolled out and fantasy strategies dissected. The players were in the spotlight as the media showed up in full force for this anticipated tournament. Each group teed off with the cameras rolling and their names being announced. See the footage below.
2015 Jackson Cup Winner
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| L-R Josiah Coffey (Commish), Jackson Coffey (Trophy Namesake), Dave Grein (2015 Champ) |
throughout the Spring but still kept up the pace to maintain the overall lead. By the time the Summer rolled around he had amassed a cushy lead at the top and was feeling good entering the final 6 weeks. Hogan's would give chase momentarily but Gophers strategy was spotless as his savvy for subs was supreme and his steady drafting left him unchallenged. It's a big paycheck for The Gophers as the Champ takes away $170 and the Jackson Cup with his Season win and $240 in overall winnings.
Gophers had stellar stats by year's end and his dominance in bonus point accumulation as well as his ability to pick a winner assured his championship. Congrats Gophers.
1st - Total Season Bonus Points (535)
1st - Winners picked (17)
1st - Non-Winner Bonus Points/Week (6.03)
1st - Strokes Gained: NWBP/Wk (2.38)
1st - Strokes Gained: Total Bonus (6.38)
2015 Runner Up - $80
It would be a deserving fantasy golfer who takes the 2nd place position for the 2015 season. Hogan's Heros was arguably the most consistently competitive team on Tour this year as he racked up a staggering 10 Top 3 finishes - 3 more than his closest competitor. He scored 5,603 points on the season which was just 58 points off the pace of the winner. He racked up 4 wins at the Humana, Wells Fargo, Wyndham and Deutsche Bank Championship and snatched 18 Top 10s overall. He was the 2nd highest paid player on fantasy tour in 2015 with $170 in winnings. He's been a consistent player over the league's two year history so look for Hogan's to come back in 2016 with the same winning drive.
3rd Place - $35
For Kikakee Tees, a hot shot player out of Nashville, it was no surprise to be ranked among the top fantasy golfers of 2015 by Fantasy Golf Digest. His consistent play on Tour gave him 5,481 points overall to go along with 17 Top 10s, 4 Top 3 and 2 wins. In his rookie season he was a frequent fixture in the Top 10 and consummate professional fantasy golfer. It was an unfortunate turn of events that resulted in Kikakee sharing both of his wins with another team but in the eyes of Yahoo and everyone in this league - those are still wins. Kikakee is 5th ranked team in earnings in 2015, winning $35 for 3rd placed and taking home a staggering total of $45 for the year. He'll be looking to triple that in 2016.
4th Place - $15
For a few months early on in the Season it looked like That's Wet might be the guy to watch out for. He was the biggest rival to The Gophers for the Winter Segment Championship and he won just his 2nd fantasy golf tournament ever back in week 2 at the Sony Open. He finished the season with 5,468 points which was only 13 points behind 3rd place finisher Kikakee and his 4th place finish at the Tour Championship nearly caused him to eclipse the Tees for 3rd. Unfortunately That's Wet had a mid season lag in the Spring where he finished 16th for the Segment. He quickly rebounded over the Summer to maintain a top tier spot in the standings and he finishes 2015 off on a very positive note. That's Wet will look to maintain his fantasy golf game over the off-season and perhaps grab that elusive Winter Segment Championship upon his return in 2016.
Tour Championship Notables
It would be a case of too little too late for Better Than Most as he racked up 40 bonus points on the final Sunday to go along with 34 4th round points. This big final day was enough to move him up the leaderboard to 5th for the week - his 12th Top 10 - and then 3 spots up the Season leaderboard to finish 2015 in 12th place. It was a forgettable season for the veteran as he only snagged 1 Top 3 (no wins). He'll look to retool the fantasy golf game over the off season and hopefully come back into form to start 2016.
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| The 2015 Fantasy Golf League (partial) |
T-Off-Killah finished his grind of a season with a solid performance at the Tour Championship with a solo 7th place finish. Despite a staggering 17th Top 10 finishes he did not manage to rank higher than 13th for the overall season standings. It was a frustrating season for T-Off and the media only exaggerated his short comings. He came close to braking through to his first Fantasy Tour win several times but it was just sheer luck that his opponents pulled out last second wins. He finished runner-up 3 times, losing by an average of 9.66 points. He had the kind of Season that Chubbs Peterson had in 2014 and Chubbs went on to win the opening tournament the next season. Perhaps T-Off-Killah can do the same.
Rounding out the Top 10 at last week's Tour Championship were 3 teams who all came in with 182 points and a T8 finish. Where Eagles Dare was still in pursuit of his first Fantasy Tour win on Sunday but he'll also have to wait for 2016 to roll around. Eagles had 1 runner-up that almost was his first victory but he lost by 6 points at the Wyndham to Hogan's. Eagles will retool during the off season and fine tune his fantasy golf game. The T8 at East Lake was Papa Pilgrim's 13th Top 10 in 2015 and by his own admission this was a down year. He managed to sneak in one win at the Travelers Championship but when compared to his 2014 championships at The Masters and US Open it was a disappointing year. Still, Papa did finish in 10th place overall so can still lay claim to a decent season ranking. The Pilgrim will head down to Florida over the winter to work with famed fantasy golf coach Hutch Barmon (a distant but equally-known relative of Butch).
Strangers had a Summer for the record books as he stacks up his incredible 11th Top 10 in 12 Summer tournaments. This league has never seen someone go a perfect 12 for 12 in a single Segment and Strangers came closer than anybody before him (Gophers came close in the Winter with 10). However, the endorsements and commercials did not follow for Strangers because he wasn't able to translate any of those Top 10s into wins or even a single Top 3 (in that stretch he had three 4th place finishes). He did have a single win on the overall season though despite it being shared with Tomte. He's already been spotted by the media in the ESPN Fantasy Golf Headquarters going over tape. Hopefully his work over the off season will pay off in 2016
2nd Annual First Timers Invitational
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| 2015 FTI Planning Committee |
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| A Champion's Celebration |
Group 1
(1)Bob Pandolfi, (2)George Harvell, (3)Tom Stello, (4)Paul Same
Group 2
(1)Adam Grein, (2)Dave Grein, (3)Ben DiCamillo, (4)Casey Johnson
Group 3
(1)Jerry Lawrence, (2)Scott Lawrence, (3)Josiah Coffey, (4)Terrence Kelleher
Group 4
(1)Josh Coffey, (2)Andrew Scholnick, (3)Carl Johnson, (4)Steve Daly
Thanks to everyone for participating and I'll look forward to starting the engines on this fantasy tour back up in 3 months.
Special thanks to Daryl Walny for the footage of the golf tournament.
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