The Wait Is Over For Halve Ouimet - 78 Week Drought Ends At Bay Hill

Arnies Place at Bay Hill has a special place in the hearts of both pro and fantasy golfers alike. The tournament's history is steeped in tradition and prestige (not to mention manners) as the King himself would have nothing less. Begun in 1979, the Bay Hill Invitational was the brainchild of Arnold Palmer - indisputably one of the greatest men to ever play the game. Formerly the Florida Citrus Open Invitational, Arnie took over the reigns and moved it to his home course at Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Since then the tournament has had several names - Bay Hill Citrus Classic, Nestle Invitational, Hertz Bay Hill Invitational - but when Arnie's name was lent to the tournament's moniker in 2007 the invitational reached new levels of PGA Tour status. 

Today, the tournament boasts one of the strongest fields of the year as an invitation from the King isn't something you flippantly turn down (and if you do turn it down at all it better be politely).  The big names came out to play and all made sure to neatly pack their A game into checked baggage with some even squeezing extra into their carry on (Rory's luggage got lost but was finally delivered to him on Sunday). But while the titans of turf clashed on the Bermuda at Bay Hill the foes of fantasy dueled it out in the Winter Segment's penultimate event. 



The favorite picks of the week were obvious. Anyone who did even the tinniest amount of homework made sure they packed Stenson, Day, Rose and Scott into their roster. And for the most part - minus Adam Scott - they did not disappoint. Gophers made a strong statement on Thursday after carding an early lead with 68 strong first round points.  Then came the grinder Halve Ouimet who outpaced everyone on Thursday to take the outright lead. The cut line merely grazed him with only one B player falling victim and the majority of teams followed suit - unfazed and full-rostered. Continuing the trend from last week, veterans of old were relentless once again. As if sensing a fragile time in the fantasy golf rankings they began to pounce - each proffering a legitimate challenge to Arnie's trophy. And despite Ouimet stretching his lead to 20 point by the end of the day on Saturday no lead is ever safe on Sunday. This is when final round strategy becomes crucial. 

As the sun rose over the Orlando suburb of Bay Hill it was Talkeetna98 who struck first. With McIlroy's luggage finally recovered and A game restored the Ulsterman went out and fired the low round of the day at 7 under. Gophers put his trust in the Aussie Scott to make up ground but the 18th proved yet again to be his Achilles heal. But as both challengers to Ouimet's lead continued to make up ground the commish stayed strong - lowering his horns and charging ahead. Making only 1 sub all week to put Day into action on Thursday he never looked back. Trusting his squad to get the job done, especially the lesser-known Englishman Andy Sullivan, he steadied his nervous hand in a Vardon-esque manner and made one last put for victory as Day rolled in birdie on 17 to seal the deal. Halve Ouimet had finally done it - he ended his 78 week drought and can be called a champion once again. The win propelled him into 3rd place for the segment with large swathes of ground made-up along the way. He's now firmly back into the discussion of league contenders after a year and half of disappointment. Welcome back to the winner's circle and congrats to Halve Ouimet.

2nd Place

Talkeetna98 gave it a go on Sunday but came up just 4 points short of his second win of the season. He played a hard fought game and did not passively sit back and let his quad do all the heavy lifting by themselves. He got down into the trenches himself and marshalled his roster around Bay Hill. He made a Sunday charge for the ages but even McIlroy's low round wasn't enough. In the end, it was a few errant subs that did him in as crucial rounds were missed. With this second place finish Talkeetna98 maintains his 4th place Segment position but takes over the top spot for money earners with $31.50. He's looking good in the bonus points rankings as he's tied for 10th in Total Bonus Points with 115 and tied for 7th in Winners Picked with 4, but he's below league average in bonus points from non-winners as he's -0.26 points behind the pace. Look for Talkeetna98 to fine tune his game even more come Spring. 

3rd Place

Gophers was looking like the Gophers of old as the reigning Jackson cup champ was making all the right moves until some missed substitutions did him in. He missed Day's 2nd round 7 under, McIlroy's 4th round 7 under and Matsuyama's 4th round 5 under. Any of these would have been enough to get him the win. But there is no do-overs in fantasy golf and Gophers will learn from this one as he takes his first Top 3 of the year. It's a positive sign for the vet as he's making up ground in large chunks. This 3rd place finish marks the 3rd consecutive week that he's moved up the leaderboard, moving up 14 positions in that time all the way to 17th place. Strangely, despite his middle of the pack position Gophers is ranked 5th in Total Bonus Points with 135. This shows that substitutions have been his downfall so far as he's just not accumulated enough points per round to collect higher finishes. Look for Gophers to retool his in-game substitution strategy as the weather warms. 

Notables: Top 10

Kikakee Tees didn't waste any time in following up his first win of the year last week with another strong finish. He accumulated 223 points by week's end and, despite missing out on back-to-back Top 3s by a small margin, he's got to be excited about his migration up the leaderboard as he's now sits in 16th place - moving up 14 spots in 4 weeks. As Kikakee gains ground he'll look to improve his stat line as he's ranked 5th from the bottom in Points Gained: Non-Winner Bonus which means he's well below average for bonus points from his second and third place players. On the flip side he's tied for 8th in Total Bonus Points so this discrepancy in conjunction with his rank lays bare his need for more top 3 finishers. Look for Kikakee to get off to a hot start in the Spring when the Masters rolls around. 

Michelson simply cannot be stopped. The hot shot rookie has been on fire for the past 2 months as she's now collected 7 consecutive Top 10 finishes with a win coming at the WGC two weeks ago. This is an impressive streak to cap off the Winter Segment as she leads the field by 53 points heading into the Segment finale in Puerto Rico. Michelson is primed to win the season opening Segment of her rookie year and there doesn't seem to be much in her way. Over the course of this tear she's accumulated 155 bonus points (3rd), 5 winners picked (T3), 1.56 Points Gained: Non-Winner Bonus (T5), and has a league leading 8 Top 10s. Streaks like this only last so long in fantasy golf so look for Michelson to come back down to earth following her likely Segment Championship. 

Papa Pilgrim came away from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a sour taste in his mouth. He put himself in position to make a Sunday charge as he entered the final round just 26 points back of the lead. He's known for making bold substitutions which has gotten him into trouble in the past but his strategy this time was simply to keep pace through subs rather than make up ground with rogue subs. The strategy didn't pan out as McIlroy and Matsuyama were sent to bench in the 4th and he missed out on 24 additional points. It would have been enough for a second place finish but he'll still take a solid Top 10 with his stand alone 6th place finish. He currently leads the league in bonus points with 180 as well as being tied for 1st with 6 winners picked. Papa is looking ahead to Augusta where he's had success in the past as he won the green jacket in 2014. The Pilgrim is close and the promised land is just over the horizon. 

That's Wet has been striding up the leaderboard lately and his string of top finishes continues this week as he's grabbed his 5th Top 10 - all in the past 7 weeks. That's Wet is surging at the right time as everyone wants to get off to a good start as the new segment nears, especially approaching the Masters. He's currently in 14th place overall and tied for 15th in Total Bonus Points at 110. In the past 4 weeks he's moved up the leaderboard an incredible 18 spots during this Top 10 binge and he doesn't appear to be done yet. The 2015 4th place finisher has been known to go on streaks so if this one is ending or just beginning only time will tell. The Spring awaits That's Wet as he'll look to stay dry heading into Augusta. 

Baby Draw made a solid bid for his defense of the Arnold Palmer Invitational but it was not meant to be. The 3rd year veteran made a heroic charge to the top here last year - capturing the crown and posing with Arnie for his first win of the 2015 season.  Still, when you score 215 points and finish in a tie for 7th place there's not much more that can be done. It was another solid Top 10 for The Baby - his 5th of the Segment - and he sits in 6th place on the leaderboard. His showing so far this Winter has been strong and despite there not being any championship trophies in his trophy case so far he's got one more week to snag it before the Winter comes to an end. No one has course history at Coco Beach for the Puerto Rico Open which tends to favor Baby Draw as the ball striker is known for shooting from the hip.

Jowls makes just his second Top 10 appearance of the young season with a stand alone 9th place finish. It's been a down Segment for the sporadic veteran so any Top 10 is a positive sign. Maybe its a swing change or a new putting grip but clearly Jowls is struggling with some adjustments as he's ranked all the way down in 32nd place. There's still time to make good on those adjustments and rumor has it that he and Phil have been taking range sessions together to work on their new swings. His fans are hoping he'll work out the kinks by the time the US Open rolls around as Jowls is the defending champ and needs to up his game if he wants to retain the Championship Trophy. 

BevGin&Tonic has had a slightly down Winter Segment so far with only 2 Top 10s and 1 Top 3 mixed in. He's historically known for having a slow start to the year, particularly during the Spring as he snagged only a single Top 10 in the segment last year. He's known for his sporadic play which tends to make him more of an under the radar threat - striking when least expected. Any Top 10 during a slow segment is a welcome reprieve but if Bev wants to contend for a Segment title one day or even collect a winner's check he'll need to hit the range and get comfy in the draft room first. 

Race for the Winter Segment

The Winter Segment is Michelson's to win or lose as she leads her closest competitor Short Strokes by 53 points heading into the final week. She took over the lead from him in week 9 and has held firm to it ever since. The two rookie contenders are untested so far and about to enter the final week of play with a Segment title on the line. The Puerto Rico Open will be a true test as the tournament field is a "who's who's-that?" of pro golfers since all the big names will be at the WGC Match Play Tournament. It's anybody's game and although 53 points is a tough hill to climb it's not insurmountable. It's gonna take guts to command a roster like the one that awaits and steer it safely into Winter Segment Championship shores. Can Michelson close out on her incredible Winter run? Or will Short Strokes make a last ditch effort to run the gamut and pass her in the 11th hour? The Winter Segment crown and $45 awaits at the Puerto Rico Open. 

THIS WEEK there are actually two events on the PGA Tour being played out as the WGC Dell Match Play will attract the big boys of pro gold while the Puerto Rico Open provides an opportunity for the 2nd tier of pro golfers to duel it out amongst themselves. The First Timers League has no history here as it has never been hosted by Yahoo in the past. It will be open season at this inaugural event as it's anybody's game. 

For those who'd like a little extracurricular entertainment head to the Match Play website on PGAtour.com to fill out your brackets and compete against each other for bragging rights. It's been a semi-lengthy winter this year and minus our brethren in the south everyone is ready to break out the long sticks again and dust off the rust. With the coming Spring Segment comes the year's first Major at Augusta as well as some heated play on Tour as the Fedex Cup vamps up. See you in Puerto Rico. 

Pos	Arnold Palmer Invitational	Rnd 1	Rnd 2	Rnd 3	Rnd 4	Total
1	Halve Ouimet	64	66	54	53	237
2	Talkeetna98	62	54	48	69	233
3	Gophers	68	52	50	61	231
4	Kikakee Tees	54	48	52	69	223
5	Michelson	60	52	50	59	221
6	Papa Pilgrim	60	50	48	59	217
7	That's Wet!	56	54	46	59	215
7	Baby Draw^3	56	48	48	63	215
9	Jowls	64	38	50	59	211
10	BevGin&Tonic	56	52	42	57	207
11	Whiny Little Pitch	42	54	50	60	206
12	Short Strokes	54	50	42	59	205
13	Tourball	54	46	38	64	202
14	DaHoffa	46	54	38	59	197
15	Marlowe Dubuisson	46	52	44	53	195
16	TIGER WOULD PUTT!!	52	32	50	59	193
17	Where Eagles Dare	54	46	50	37	187
17	Swing Easy When It's Breezy	66	38	38	45	187
17	2 footer	36	54	32	65	187
20	Tomte	50	52	44	37	183
20	GrampaLevs	52	44	40	47	183
22	4 Hitting 5	42	50	50	40	182
23	Eat My Grind	44	36	56	39	175
23	IN YOUR LIFE!	52	36	38	49	175
23	Mastersway	40	32	44	59	175
26	Hogan's Heros	44	46	34	49	173
27	Night Putting	34	30	52	44	160
28	Haney's Got a Gun	36	46	24	51	157
29	Chubbs 'Part Time' Peterson	28	44	34	46	152
30	Freeside Links	36	40	30	42	148
31	Kings Deer	42	30	36	36	144
32	Rug Munchers	44	32	28	38	142
33	Salad Thongs	40	40	28	30	138
34	Taylormade	46	42	22	25	135
35	Show and Dough	42	20	26	20	108
36	Mother Rabbit	26	18	18	18	80
37	BurningTime	18	18	14	13	63