But just as hot as the action was on the real course so too was the title viciously fought for on the Fantasy Tour. Three teams were tied for the lead heading into Sunday as Night Putting, BevGin&Tonic and Michelson were all hungry for their first win of 2016. Other veterans were not far off the pace as That's Wet, TourBall and 4 Hitting 5 all had designs on the WGC crown. Shots were fired early on Sunday and the bodies started to pile up before the turn was even reached. Dustin Johnson was the first victim of the Blue Monster as many teams fell out of contention with his early blow up. McIlroy started to fade next as his lead evaporated before his eyes. Michelson was making headway though as her battalion charged into the fray and fired birdies indiscriminately throughout the course. Her brilliant substitutions (or refrain from over subing) had left nothing wanting as she only made two subs all week. It was her intensive scrutinizing of the stats in the draft room that made her roster the strongest one out there. The record books aren't clear on whether it's ever been done before but it was looking like Michelson might finish with all four of the top three players due to a tie for 3rd. BevGin&Tonic sallied forward with one more volley but it fell short of the mark. Michelson's squad of Bubba, Adam, Rory and Danny all collected bonus points giving the rookie phenom 40 total bonus points. The elusive victory that evaded her at the Northern Trust Open was now within arm's reach. And she gave it a big old bear hug as she marched to the championship with 212 points. The league newcomer had been landing Top 10s all winter long but was without a win or Top 3 until this week. It's a milestone for Michelson as she collects the highest paycheck so far this year of $20 and has now taken over the Winter Segment lead. Early exit polls show Michelson winning rookie of the year honors but she'll have to hold onto her slippery status as league leader first. Congrats Michelson!
The media caught up with Michelson
as she got off her plan in Boston
Second Place
Where did BevGin&Tonic come from? The under-the-radar vet hasn't been much of a big game player so far this year. He did have 9 Top 10s in 2015 to go along with his win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last April. He collects his first Top 10 of the 2016 season with this runner-up finish on the big stage of a WGC. After being tied with Michelson for the lead heading into Sunday he made all the right calls save one - he left Bubba on the bench for the entire tournament. This caused him to miss out on Bubba's 10 additional bonus points but he can rest easy in knowing that even that would not have been enough to catch the leader. Bev's 2nd place finish at the moment seems to be an anomaly as he currently sits in 31st place. But this could be a turning point for him and just the tonic he needs to get things going heading into the Spring.
Third Place
In his two year history in the league Night Putting has come close to winning many times but all with no cigar. He managed to collect 12 Top 10s last year and 3 Top 3s but hasn't broken through for a win yet. This third place finish at Doral is his first Top 3 of the year and 3rd Top 10 overall. Night Putting has put together an impressive point total for the Winter Segment though and is in 6th place at the moment. He's got an outsider's chance at making a run for the Segment championship but with just 3 weeks to go it's a very weak chance at that. He's ranked 28th in Total Bonus Points at the moment which is a strange rank for a 6th place team. This shows that his ability to get the most out of his players during every round is probably ranked near the top of the league. He'll take his first paycheck of $4 to the bank though and get back to work for more.
Notables:
TourBall gave it his all on Sunday but his misplaced trust in Dustin Johnson proved to be his downfall. Tourball will live to fight another day and currently sits in 14th place for the Winter.
Papa Pilgrim had the second best day of the tournament on Sunday. Before the day started he wasn't considered one of the contenders and was even questionable for a Top 10 finish. But Papa boldly subbed in Adam Scott and Justin Rose who got him 34 points between the two and then he piled on 40 bonus points by having all 4 top 3 finishers. Papa moved up in the standings 3 spots and now sits inside the Top 10 just barely in 9th place. The vet has been up and down all Winter but historically his best time of year has been the Spring where he owns a segment title as well as a green jacket. Perhaps The Pilgrim is just waiting for greener pastures before he makes his move.
Little has been heard of from Hogan's Heros this Winter as the 2015 heavy weight hasn't lived up to the reputation he built for himself last year. It was a tough act to top though as he finished the season in 2nd place and was the winner of 4 tournament titles. Hogan's has yet to make a move up the leaderboard this year and snagged only his second Top 10 of the young season last week with 6th place finish.
It was a solid Top 10 for the 7th place finishers as 4 Hitting 5, Gophers and Whiny Little Pitch all tied each other with 167 points. 4H5 now has a solid 4 Top 10s and is tied for 4th in that category. He's playing a hell of a lot better than he did last year so it must have been a matter of time before the old pro came around. Gophers has been struggling to start the season and scooped up just his third Top 10 of the young season. Not a terrible stat line but when you consider he's the reigning Jackson Cup champ the expectations are much higher. Heavy weighs the crown. Then of course there's the feisty Whiny Little Pitch who's always a contender. She burst onto the scene last year and has been throwing haymakers ever since. She's also started the season somewhat sluggishly though with just 3 Top 10s but look for her to turn things around once the weather warms up enough for her southern sensibilities.
Halve Ouimet rounds out the Top 10 with his 4th appearance in the Top 10 notables section. But of these 4 appearances 2 of them are 9th place finishes and the other 2 are 10th place finishes. Ouimet has struggled with the figurative flat stick in the past but these Top 10s are better than nothing. His winless streak now stands 45 weeks. He's hungry for that elusive win and will stop at nothing to get it. NOTHING!
Race for the Winter Segment
Short Strokes has fallen! After a reign of nearly 2 months the lead of Short Strokes has finally ended. But despite being deposed as the Winter front runner he's far from out of the race. Michelson made a concerted effort at the WGC to not only take the lead but stretch it to 40 points. And with just three weeks left in the Segment she's given herself a nice safety net. But it can disappear in the blink of an eye if she's not careful. There are 5 teams within 80 points of her lead and a strong charge from any of them could prove fatal to Michelson.
Eat My Grind has made the biggest move over the last 4 weeks by moving from 19th to 3rd! Kings Deer has moved up and down but still finds himself in the fight currently in 4th place (exactly where he was 4 weeks ago). Halve Ouimet has been hanging around as well as Night Putting and Talkeetna98. One of them could come from behind but it would take near perfect drafting and substitutions.
This Week the spotlight stays in Florida as the Swing continues through the Sunshine State. The Valspar Championship is next up which is where Jordan Spieth began his epic surge last year when he took the first win of his darling season. The defending champ this week is none other than Salad Thongs (then known as Hill Baas) who put up a stellar performance to capture the first and only tournament victory of his career. In league history there has been only one team to successfully defend their title and we're over due for a 2nd. K.J. Choi is back in the field this week so we'll see who of Choi's Boys shows up with him on their roster. The money leaderboard is growing and teams are starting to pad their bank accounts. A new Segment leader has kept the winds of change blowing which means there's plenty of prizes for the rest of the league to salvage. Will the Valspar produce a first time winner or will an old weathered veteran rise from the depths to resurrect his career at Copperhead. The famous Snake Pit awaits its next victim as week 10 rolls into Palm Harbor, FL at the Innisbrook Resort.
| Pos | WGC-Cadillac Champ. | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Total |
| 1 | Michelson | 42 | 50 | 38 | 82 | 212 |
| 2 | BevGin&Tonic | 44 | 36 | 50 | 65 | 195 |
| 3 | Night Putting | 48 | 40 | 42 | 61 | 191 |
| 4 | Tourball | 44 | 46 | 32 | 55 | 177 |
| 5 | Papa Pilgrim | 28 | 34 | 38 | 76 | 176 |
| 6 | Hogan's Heros | 28 | 36 | 38 | 69 | 171 |
| 7 | 4 Hitting 5 | 38 | 36 | 48 | 45 | 167 |
| 7 | Gophers | 26 | 54 | 38 | 49 | 167 |
| 7 | Whiny Little Pitch | 42 | 34 | 36 | 55 | 167 |
| 10 | Halve Ouimet | 34 | 30 | 42 | 58 | 164 |
| 11 | Mastersway | 34 | 26 | 56 | 47 | 163 |
| 11 | IN YOUR LIFE! | 44 | 28 | 38 | 53 | 163 |
| 13 | Kings Deer | 22 | 50 | 54 | 35 | 161 |
| 14 | TIGER WOULD PUTT!! | 40 | 30 | 34 | 53 | 157 |
| 15 | That's Wet! | 46 | 34 | 46 | 29 | 155 |
| 16 | Where Eagles Dare | 38 | 42 | 42 | 29 | 151 |
| 17 | Show and Dough | 44 | 34 | 20 | 52 | 150 |
| 18 | GrampaLevs | 44 | 30 | 46 | 29 | 149 |
| 18 | Freeside Links | 40 | 46 | 28 | 35 | 149 |
| 20 | Short Strokes | 38 | 36 | 44 | 29 | 147 |
| 21 | Talkeetna98 | 28 | 20 | 34 | 60 | 142 |
| 22 | 2 footer | 38 | 18 | 36 | 44 | 136 |
| 22 | Baby Draw^3 | 30 | 32 | 24 | 50 | 136 |
| 24 | Eat My Grind | 30 | 30 | 46 | 29 | 135 |
| 24 | Tomte | 30 | 34 | 42 | 29 | 135 |
| 26 | Rug Munchers | 32 | 24 | 36 | 40 | 132 |
| 27 | Taylormade | 30 | 20 | 40 | 40 | 130 |
| 27 | Jowls | 26 | 32 | 34 | 38 | 130 |
| 27 | Kikakee Tees | 26 | 24 | 24 | 56 | 130 |
| 30 | DaHoffa | 34 | 28 | 24 | 38 | 124 |
| 31 | Mother Rabbit | 50 | 18 | 32 | 20 | 120 |
| 31 | Swing Easy When It's Breezy | 42 | 16 | 28 | 34 | 120 |
| 33 | BurningTime | 28 | 20 | 34 | 34 | 116 |
| 34 | Salad Thongs | 22 | 24 | 36 | 27 | 109 |
| 35 | Chubbs 'Part Time' Peterson | 28 | 10 | 32 | 37 | 107 |
| 36 | Haney's Got a Gun | 24 | 16 | 28 | 20 | 88 |
| 37 | Marlowe Dubuisson | 28 | 10 | 20 | 20 | 78 |
No comments:
Post a Comment