There was a lot of movement on the Segment leaderboard over the weekend. Teams were passing each other in droves while others saw massive drops in their position. The only other team who had a worse Sunday when it comes to passing and drops was the Carolina Panthers. To go with the great upheaval in the standings was the momentous battle shaping up on the back nine during Sunday's final round. Talkeetna98 came into the week with a lot of confidence in his roster. He was the defending champ so naturally received most of the press coverage prior to Thursday's start. He didn't disappoint either, firing brilliant rounds on Thursday and Friday to take the 36 hole lead. He went into the weekend with the opportunity to become the first team in league history to successfully defend his title. But it wasn't going to be a cake walk. On Saturday, That's Wet took the initiative and ended up on top with the 54 hole lead heading into Sunday. The stage was set for an epic showdown.
It started fast. On Sunday, Short Strokes was setting the pace and would eventually come home with a total of 84 points including bonus. Da Hoffa was in hot pursuit as well and carded 79 points to join the crew near the top. That's Wet was giving it everything he had to keep the lead but a crucial missed opportunity in his A group by Philbo Baggins muddled his chances. Talkeetna98 started the day 10 points back and needed a strong final round from Bubba and Brandt if he was going to catch the leader. And he got exactly what he asked for, carding 32 points from these two players which put him in the lead. There was one more bullet to dodge though which came from surging Short Strokes whose brilliant final round substitutions put him in contention. It literally came down to the final playoff hole as Rickie and Hideki battled it out for the win. Both would need extra holes to settle things as Fowler Matsuyama were tied at the end of regulation. A Fowler win would hand the title to Short Strokes while a Matsuyama masterpiece assured victory for Talkeetna98. The playoff was tense with each player going blow for blow, matching scores on the first 3 extra holes. And then in the blink of an eye it was over. Fowler's tee shot on the 4th playoff hole careened into the water off the 17th green (for the second time that day). Talkeetna98's 36 week winless drought ended with Matsuyama's par as both won hoisted the trophy in Phoenix. Talkeetna98 becomes the first ever defending champion of the First Timers League by winning the Waste Management Phoenix Open in successive years and is primed for a charge at the Segment title. Congrats Talkeetna98.
Talkeetna98 had to catch a flight to Pebble Beach to prep for this week's tournament and was not available for a press conference.
Tie for Second Place:
For Short Strokes, the thought of "what more do I have to do to win" must be weighing on him following the conclusion of the Phoenix Open. He put together a final round charge that is ranked among the biggest rounds in league history. He recorded his 4th Top 10 is 5 weeks and his first Top 3 finish. He came within a whisper of capturing the Phoenix Open title but came up just two points shy of the shared win. Despite successfully moving around his B players on Sunday to max out points he missed the opportunity to share the win when he left Bubba on the bench and missed out on 2 extra points. Still, Short Strokes is arguably the hottest rookie on fantasy tour at the moment and has now tied 2 Footer for the Segment lead. His quest for that breakthrough performance will continue at Pebble Beach this week.
That's Wet put together one hell of a performance in the desert last week and nearly captured his first title since winning the Sony Open over a year ago. The veteran has a solid track record as he nearly won the Winter Segment last year and finished the year in 4th place overall. He faltered just a bit though on Sunday by missing Bubba's 5-under final round. He put his roster on auto-pilot throughout the tournament as he made no subs all week. It nearly worked out for him but no dice in the end. He hasn't started the Winter Segment off as well as he did last year and finds himself in 31st place at the moment. He's got some work to do if he wants to claw his way back to a respectable place in the standings. But if anyone can do its That's Wet.
Notables:
The rookie DaHoffa put together easily his best performance of the year. He had managed to stay in the middle of the pack without a Top 10 but finally got his first of the season with a 4th place finish in Phoenix. He had a chance to win it all but made a last second sub to put Phil into the action and Bubba on the bench. Bubba had played all 3 rounds for DaHoff prior to Sunday and could have got him the outright win. But it was not to be and a tough lesson learned for the rookie. To sub or not to sub... that is the question.
Baby Draw makes his way back into the good graces of the Top 10 with a standalone 5th place finish after a strong 73 point final round with bonus. The league veteran will add this one to his first week Top 10 but he can't be happy with the lack of Top 3s so far. Baby Draw finished the season last year in 5th place overall (just out of the money) which signified a consistent performance through all 3 Segments. He moved up the leaderboard 5 spots on Sunday which puts him in the thick of it at 8th place. To be in this position with only 2 Top 10s signifies that Baby Draw is one hell of a grinder.
Last week marked two weeks in a row that Haney's Got A Gun put together a solid performance. After finishing runner up at the Farmers Insurance Open last week he followed it up with a strong showing in Phoenix by finishing in 6th place. Haney's was the biggest mover on the leaderboard as he charged up the standings 8 spots! He's wiggled his way into the Top 10 overall and will now try to chip away at the Segment lead. The veteran has never been in contention for a Segment title and would love a chance to add one to his trophy case.
There had been whispers in the press about the 2015 champ Gophers and whether or not he'd lost his game. He was nowhere to be found throughout the first four weeks of the season as he finished outside the Top 10 in each of them. With each passing week the pressure built for the Jackson Cup winner to put together a solid tournament. And it finally happened in Phoenix as Gophers managed a 7th place finish. He started out the 2015 season on fire and finished the year with a league leading 25 Top 10s. However, he's well off that pace this year and needs to rebound if he's going to contend at some point.
Bringing up the rear in 10th place at the Phoenix Open with another solid performance is veteran Halve Ouimet. The league vet is a career 9 time champion but hasn't had much to crow about in the last year as he's gone winless for over a year now. His winnless streak stands at 41 active weeks and counting. He's managed to string together 3 Top 10s to start the season though and finds himself in 6th place overall so he must be doing something right. The West Coast Swing seems to fit his drafting technique so he'll try to keep it up at Pebble to finally break his unlucky streak.
THIS WEEK the Tour heads back to California for some more fun in the sun. After leaving the coastal setting for 1 week to sojourn through the desert they return to the beach for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Last year fortune smiled on TourBall as he captured his first and only fantasy tour victory here. The power rankings are set and Talkeetna98 seems to be a favorite again this week. He finished in third place here last year and fresh off his first 2016 victory he must be flying high. The top earners are starting to accrue some cash and time will tell if they continue to cash in or spread the wealth. It'll take some big moves from the lower ranks if they don't want it to be a runaway. Draft wisely.
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