Show & Dough Caps Classic Sunday Charge With Come-From-Behind Victory

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions is an anticipated event in the fantasy world. It not only serves as the season opening event but also gives those of us who've put away the clubs for the winter something to distract from the encroaching cold. The first ever tournament of champions was hosted in 1953 in Las Vegas where the winning score didn't even come close to the birdie binges that now take place at the tournament's Plantation Course. Al Besselink, a 20 time winner on the PGA Tour, won by 1 shot over Chanler Harper with a score of -8. Flash forward to 2003 and it would be the Big Easy Ernie Els who set the scoring record for this event with a -31 (a score that, in all likelihood, will stand for quite some time to come). Tiger Woods has won this event twice, Arnold Palmer thrice, and the Golden Bear all but owned this event by winning it a record 5 times in his career. The event moved to Hawaii's Plantation Course in 1999 and now hosts some of the most spectacular views in all of golf. And the players did not disappoint this year as they peppered the pin with their approaches and sent putts tracking towards the hole from all over the greens.



The 2016 field was packed with the superstars of the game as 6 of the world's top 10 players took the long walk at Kapalua. And for many it was no surprise that all eyes were on Jordan Spieth. His seemingly superhuman ability to stake a lead and keep it has baffled and amazed fans of the game for the past year. Pressure is apparently not a club he carries in his bag. But while Spieth was in the driver seat on the real course there was a battle being waged in the fantasy world which wouldn't be determined until the dust settled on a sun soaked landscape in Maui.

The big names of fantasy golf came out to play as well and, along with a few newcomers to the game, it was a season opening event that included high drama and a classic Sunday charge. The veteran Tomte - hot off her 2015 rookie season where she had 3 wins and 7 Top 3s - picked up right where she left off by leading the field after round 1. It would be a mixed bag of veterans and rookies giving chase as Kings Deer and Show & Dough were two of the teams in hot pursuit. League veteran Rug Munchers surfaced into the lead after 36 holes but then faded with a lackluster 3rd round and couldn't recover. Then after 3 rounds of play it was Tomte once again who fought her way back to the top and took the 54 hole lead. It's never a restful night trying to sleep with the lead going into Sunday - especially when you've got the likes of Show & Dough nipping at your heels. Never straying far from the lead The Show bided her time during the week but then on Sunday she made her move. Making only a single substitution after the first round by putting Snedeker into the action she then never looked back and charged towards the lead. Sticking with her guns the rest of the way she carded great rounds from her stars and her C player Scott Piercy did just enough. Her savvy drafting ability collected her the maximum bonus points as she had all Top 3 finishers on her roster and outpace her rival Tomte by 9 points to claim the first title of 2016. The commish called it when he said to watch out for Show & Dough in 2016 and she's clearly living up to the task by starting the season off with a big win. The Show takes home the season's first paycheck and plants her flag atop the standings as she delivers a very clear message to the rest of the league: The Show is back. Congrats Show & Dough.

2nd & 3rd Place Finishers:

The 2nd place finish for Tomte was less than satisfying as she had victory in her grasp only to see it slip away at the last second. A familiar plot for anyone who's been around the league long enough as no lead is ever safe. She showed true grit though by leading after two of the 4 rounds and her penchant for drafting Swedish kinsmen nearly payed off again. But just as she snatched victory away from Halve Ouimet in the unsanctioned Nedbank fantasy tournament last month so too did her 4th career victory get taken away in the 11th hour. It's still a positive note to start the season as Tomte has quickly become one of the league's powerhouses. She takes home the newly installed 2nd place payout and looks to pull a Jimmy Walker next week at the Sony Open by winning an event after narrowly losing the Hyundai the week before.

It would be a league rookie who put together one hell of a maiden voyage for his first foray on the fantasy tour. Kings Deer went toe-to-toe with league veterans Show & Dough and Tomte as he never subbed once and took home a coveted Top 3 finish despite having a zero on the scorecard for J.B. Holmes 2nd round. He stuck with him though - through diligence or neglect - and rode out the storm by carding 220 points which just got him a third place finish by a single point. Kings Deer takes home the newly installed 3rd place payout for his efforts and looks to keep the fires burning next week in Honolulu.

Top 10

Notables:

Newcomer Short Strokes put together a solid rookie performance as he came within a single point of finishing Top 3 in his first ever fantasy golf event. He dabbled with some subs after the first round and made good choices as all of his finishing starters landed within the top 20 finishers (along with 1st and 2nd bonus points). The crafty rookie will look to build on this 4th place finish over the long haul and break into the Top 3 before the winter snows have thawed.

It was a valiant effort from the defending champ Chubbs 'Part Time' Peterson as he came within a whisper of successfully defending his crown. He had fallen off the pace after round 3 but then on Sunday put together a masterful final round performance and pushed into the Top 10 by carding bonus points from all three Top 3 finishers. Only 1 of 12 teams to have Brooks Koepka on his roster he snagged an extra 5 bonus points to give him standalone 5th place finish.

Baby Draw returns to action and in mid-season form at that. His ever present status as a league contender was felt once again as he takes home a 6th place finish in what was a tough field of similar rosters. The Baby has repeatedly stormed the gates event after event and this season looks to be no different. After winning 2 events last year he looks to increase on that number by translating more Top 3 finishes into championship paychecks.

No one should be surprised to see the likes of Whiny Little Pitch making her entrance into the Top 10 after last years hot streak that she went on. Whiny snags a standalone 7th place finish after out-dueling many other league heavyweights. She did have a lone championship title last year and hopes to build on that performance in the new year. Whiny has the ability to go on a hot streak which she did last Winter so don't be surprised if the cold doesn't slow her down.

It was a gritty 8th place finish for the wily veteran Papa Pilgrim as he was all but out of it following the 2nd round. He then performed a miracle and rose from the dead - catapulting himself 17 spots up the leaderboard to get back into contention. Papa is the owner of a championship title of his own from 2015 but hopes to triple that number by season's end. It'll be a long season though if he isn't able to get his substitutions to go the way he wants them.

Not more than 4 months ago we saw the battle for the Summer Segment go down with Night Putting ending up on the wrong side of destiny. Well he's back from that defeat and ready for a 2016 campaign that includes the goal of finally winning a Segment crown. He's off to a good start with a 9th place finish at Kapalua and checks off at Top 10 performance which will be a metric to gauge performance after the first Segment comes to an end. Night Putting will look to stay hot in the warm weather of Hawaii in the Sony Open next week.

And rounding out the Top 10 was another newcomer and fantasy golf rookie who seems to have a knack for this game already. Swing Easy When It's Breezy put together a fine performance in his inaugural event and carded great rounds from an excellently drafted roster. His Achilles heel was easily avoidable though as he had Spieth on the bench and didn't get him into the action once. Usually a case of neglect, missing out on a player's bonus points is a death knell in the standings as others collect the bonus and surpass anyone who doesn't. On the flip side, at least he's still got 10 starts with Jordan which will certainly come in handy down the stretch.

Next week the boys stay local as they look to improve upon their tans by island hoping over to Honolulu for the Sony Open. While the FedEx Cup points standings are still being shaped so too are the fantasy standings as things are sure to shift over the first few weeks. Fortunes will rise and fall with the Hawaiian tides as the rising sun still has not shined any light on what the Winter Segment has in store. Get the yardage books out and start taking note of the experts picks (or not - it probably doesn't matter) as the 2016 Fantasy Golf Season is underway. The defending champ That's Wet took victory at Sony last year in a big way and he hopes to become the first ever team to successfully defend his title. The engine has started on this 37 week season so rev put the peddle to the metal or conserve your petrol - either way it's at your peril. The Race for the Jackson Cup is on.