It's that time of year again when the season isn't too old and the weather still crisp and changing fortunes give rise to surging underdogs. A time when the summer sun has not yet baked the standings into shape and its form is still malleable enough for a dramatic rise in the ranks. Winter winds have given way to springtime rays and the dormant heavyweights of fantasy golf are beginning to stir. For many, the Winter Segment is a trial period when new strategies are employed and the kinks are worked out before the real business of Major tournaments and Jackson Cup rankings comes into play. As the inaugural segment comes to a close the warning bell's gong can be heard rising from the bottom of the leaderboard as the the hibernating veterans of old are beginning to make their move.
The Valspar Championship is right on the cusp of this seasonal changeover and therefore tends to play host to these great migrations in rank. Following the opening round on Thursday the first bear to wake was the famed ball striker Haney's Got A Gun. Then on Friday it was Tomte's turn as she lead the field in Points Gained: Subbing. The veterans Halve Ouimet, Hogan's Heros and That's Wet were all throwing in their lot to vie for the championship but just as fortunes rose high they quickly gave way and receded back into the field. Rookie of the year candidate Short Strokes was putting on a clinic in what was perhaps his best tournament to date. The Segment contender has yet to win on Fantasy Tour and his eyes got big when he led after 54 holes. In the end he would fall prey to the winner-less roster with no bonus points as is often the case and join the ranks of the victims who were pounced on by the Snake Pit. Only two were left to duel it out at Innisbrook's Copperhead Course.
Enter Papa Pilgrim and Kikakee Tees. Both Papa and The Tees were hitting their stride as the weekend progressed. Both could see the gathering light as if rising from the ocean depths, gaining steam as they reached the shallows and then bursting through the surface on Sunday. They pulled away from the field - pinning all their hopes on the back of one man - the South African Charl Schwartzel. He gave them everything he had and then some as he out dueled Haas in a playoff. But tragedy would strike for one and fortune would smile on the other before the Snake Pit was through with both of them. In a fantasy sport that is just as unpredictable, if not more, than the real thing there is no accounting for freak injuries. The Kiwi Danny Lee, Papa Pilgrim's work horse at the Valspar, gave way to a wrist injury and exited the Valspar (stage left) mid-round on Sunday. When word reached Kikakee of Lee's withdraw he saw his chance. He cracked the whip over the backs of his thoroughbreds Stenson and Dufner, urging them on relentlessly. The finish line was in site and Kikakee was on the verge of capturing a much needed victory in a season that had yielded him only two Top 10s of little flare. He waited until the 11th hour to get Schwartzel into the action, giving him his first start on Sunday. The move would assure him the 20 bonus points that came with Schwartzel's win and he managed solid rounds from the rest of his squad to give him a final score of 200 points. Papa's roster couldn't recover from its fallen comrade and could only muster 191 points by day's end. Kikakee had risen from the ashes of a dreary Winter Segment and claimed victory once again. He moves up the leaderboard 8 spots into 21st place with this win and is primed for The Masters as he looks ahead in hopes of capturing his first Major title when the Spring Segment rolls around. Congrats Kikakee Tees.
And therefore, Kikakee, never send to know for whom the victory bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
Kikakee Tees commented on his win from
his home in Nashville
Second Place
It was a disappointing runner-up finish for Papa Pilgrim as he thought this was the one. The Pilgrim lives and dies with every sub so the blow that Danny Lee gave him when he withdrew on Sunday was nothing short of knee buckling. It's not all bad news though as Papa moves into 3rd place for the Winter Segment and boosts himself into the discussion of segment contenders. He's still 80 points back from leader Michelson though but he's got a history when it comes to taking over a segment in the last hour. He's now ranked #1 in total bonus points for the season after getting points from Schwartzel and Moore on Sunday. His progressive play and anxiety inducing substitutions have lifted him in the standings so despite missing the win at Valspar Papa collects a $6 paycheck and has a seat at the Winter Segment Championship table as it plays out over the next two weeks.
Third Place
His ascendancy has been quiet. Hushed murmurings can be heard among fringe fantasy golf reports but the decibel level of this chatter is gaining strength as That's Wet continues gaining ground. He's not a flashy player - preferring to accumulate Top 10s and 3s under the radar but the press is starting to take notice. That's Wet seems to be hoarding Top 3s as he's gathered up 4 of them in the last 6 weeks - rising 13 spots in the standings. He's the highest non-winner money earner with $12 in the bank from 2nd and 3rd place finishes alone (2 of them ties). Last year's 4th place finisher, That's Wet struggled to start the season but seems to be hitting his stride in time for the new Segment in April.
Notables
Tomte seems to be spreading out her big finishes throughout the course of the Winter. The
Short Strokes came so close to finally breaking through at the Valspar but a disappointing Sunday whitewashed his chances for career victory #1. Short Strokes has been a fixture near the top of the leaderboard for quite some time and there doesn't seem to be any stopping his momentum. His T4 finish at Copperhead allowed him to gain some ground on the leader but with only two weeks to go he'll have to do more than cobble away at it. No Segment Champ has ever won the title without first winning a tournament so it would be quite the feat if Strokes could pull it off.
Baby Draw has been grinding out a decent living on Fantasy Tour so far this year and scratching out Top 10 finishes on a semi-regular basis. He snagged his 4th of the Winter at Innisbrook last week but none of these finishes has been higher than 5th place. Baby has some work to do if he wants to start earning paychecks but he's positioned himself nicely over the Segment and sits in 10th place overall. He's ranked 11th in Bonus Points but is 30th in Non-Winner Bonus Points so he's got some work to do in the draft room if he's going to make a move in the Spring.
4 Hitting 5 is starting to string together some starts as the old pro has advanced up the leaderboard 5 spots in the last 3 weeks. He's taking a card out of Jerry Kelly and KJ Choi's playbook as his career is undergoing a resurgence. 4H5 has managed 1 Top 3 so far and is hovering right around league average for bonus points. His patience is proving to be extremely valuable and his course management is showing the young guns how to play the season - slow and steady. This 8th place finish is his 2nd Top 10 in consecutive weeks.
While some might compare the play of Mother Rabbit to that of Fabian Gomez or Zac Blair she wants the league to know that she is not a one trick pony, or rather, rabbit. Despite the Valspar being just her 2nd Top 10 of the young season she's already a money earner with her victory at the Northern Trust Open and has proven she can rise to the occasion. Mother Rabbit seems to be content biding her time near the bottom of the standings, making a paycheck here and there, but she's shown she can perform on Fantasy Tour and with a new Segment around the corner comes a new race. If she is to contend she'll need to show the league her win at Riviera was no fluke.
Race for the Winter Segment
The Winter Segment comes to an end in just two weeks and it's going to be a sprint to the finish. Michelson has the burden of maintaining a the lead while the challengers have luxury of nothing to lose. Michelson took the segment lead from Short Strokes just two weeks ago and stretched her lead to near 40 points. Strokes has chipped away at it though and it now stands at 34 points. It's way too close to call and some choices have to be made. Play it safe and protect or be aggressive and advance. Papa Pilgrim adds to the drama as he's the only league veteran with an tepid chance of catching the leader. A final week challenge awaits after this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational as the league heads to the Caribbean for the Puerto Rico Open for the first time in Fantasy Golf. All the big guns will have their hands full at the WGC Match Play that week while the lesser-knowns head to the Puerto Rico to battle it out. This is where a team's drafting savvy will come into play as it will be almost anybody's game.
THIS WEEK is one of the more respected tournaments on Tour as the PGA heads to Bay Hill for the always-dramatic Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational. Whoever said golf is boring has never seen the finish to the 1990 Bay Hill Invitational (then called the Nestle Invitational). Robert Gamez trailed Greg Norman and Larry Maize by a single stroke coming to the 72nd hole. His 2nd shot on the par 4 finishing hole - a 7 iron from middle of the fairway - is one of those iconic moments that make golf a truly exciting game. Our own defending champ Baby Draw has been laying in wait for a chance to rise up and snatch a long awaited victory and there's no better time than the present. It'll be another drama filled week at Arnie's Place and there's plenty of interesting players to recruit for the squad. Pick wisely.
| Pos | Valspar Championship | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Total |
| 1 | Kikakee Tees | 38 | 40 | 50 | 72 | 200 |
| 2 | Papa Pilgrim | 30 | 42 | 52 | 67 | 191 |
| 3 | That's Wet! | 30 | 54 | 44 | 50 | 178 |
| 4 | Tomte | 24 | 58 | 48 | 44 | 174 |
| 4 | Short Strokes | 34 | 50 | 50 | 40 | 174 |
| 6 | Baby Draw^3 | 44 | 46 | 42 | 40 | 172 |
| 7 | Michelson | 36 | 44 | 44 | 47 | 171 |
| 8 | 4 Hitting 5 | 30 | 28 | 40 | 72 | 170 |
| 9 | Mother Rabbit | 40 | 38 | 34 | 57 | 169 |
| 10 | Talkeetna98 | 38 | 44 | 50 | 36 | 168 |
| 11 | Haney's Got a Gun | 50 | 24 | 50 | 40 | 164 |
| 12 | Salad Thongs | 40 | 40 | 48 | 35 | 163 |
| 13 | Halve Ouimet | 32 | 48 | 50 | 32 | 162 |
| 13 | Tourball | 36 | 44 | 50 | 32 | 162 |
| 15 | Gophers | 38 | 36 | 46 | 41 | 161 |
| 16 | GrampaLevs | 36 | 42 | 46 | 36 | 160 |
| 17 | Eat My Grind | 42 | 34 | 32 | 50 | 158 |
| 17 | Hogan's Heros | 46 | 48 | 36 | 28 | 158 |
| 19 | Taylormade | 46 | 26 | 38 | 44 | 154 |
| 20 | Show and Dough | 48 | 36 | 26 | 42 | 152 |
| 20 | DaHoffa | 34 | 34 | 46 | 38 | 152 |
| 22 | BevGin&Tonic | 44 | 20 | 42 | 42 | 148 |
| 23 | Rug Munchers | 34 | 28 | 44 | 41 | 147 |
| 24 | Night Putting | 34 | 36 | 38 | 34 | 142 |
| 25 | Mastersway | 34 | 38 | 36 | 32 | 140 |
| 26 | Jowls | 30 | 28 | 38 | 42 | 138 |
| 27 | Where Eagles Dare | 26 | 40 | 36 | 32 | 134 |
| 27 | Whiny Little Pitch | 24 | 32 | 50 | 28 | 134 |
| 29 | 2 footer | 30 | 28 | 42 | 27 | 127 |
| 30 | TIGER WOULD PUTT!! | 34 | 28 | 36 | 28 | 126 |
| 31 | BurningTime | 24 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 114 |
| 32 | Swing Easy When It's Breezy | 38 | 28 | 28 | 18 | 112 |
| 33 | Freeside Links | 32 | 30 | 22 | 22 | 106 |
| 34 | Chubbs 'Part Time' Peterson | 40 | 24 | 16 | 18 | 98 |
| 35 | IN YOUR LIFE! | 20 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 80 |
| 36 | Kings Deer | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 48 |
| 36 | Marlowe Dubuisson | 22 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 48 |
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