There comes a time in every fantasy golfer's life when he reevaluates his game. Do I have still have the competitive edge? Is my substitution strategy too wild? Am I reading the right articles? Can I still compete with the young guns on the fantasy tour today? The answers always come back different for each player and for many they are either motivating or depressing. Enter Baby Draw. A three year veteran of the league, he'd been going through a rough patch for quite some time and was on the verge of celebrating (or mourning) his 1 year anniversary without a win next week. The last time he'd hoisted the trophy was at the Fedex St. Jude Classic in early June 2015. From then until now, 50 weeks to be exact, he'd managed to card only 2 Top 3s. That he was having a drought is putting it lightly. But if Baby Draw is anything he's a grinder. Despite having zero Top 3s in the first half of 2016 he still clawed his way into the top 10 and has held down a spot inside this elite bastion for 16 of the 20 weeks played this season. The accolades were not coming but his standing was holding strong.The year anniversary of a player's most recent win is a scary milestone. And Baby Draw knew this as he headed into battle at the Byron Nelson Championship last week. His picks were not textbook but he didn't go too rogue - just the right mix of can-do and sleeper golfers. DJ, Sergio and Kuchar headlined his dance card and he waltzed his way into action with excellent early rounds. If 'Over Par Round Avoidance' were a tracked stat category then Baby Draw would have led the field last week. He somehow managed to get 15 of his 16 rounds in at even par or better (his sole over par round was a +1 on Thursday from Ryan Palmer). He still had his work cut out for him though as he entered the weekend 20 points off the lead. He failed to make up any ground on Saturday which set the stage for an epic Sunday charge (and a fatal meltdown for someone else). Kikakee had the lead with Talkeetna98, DaHoffa and Papa right on his heels as Sunday rolled around. Kikakee had the horses to get the job done in the final round but in an ill-fated decision that the golfing gods could not have scripted any more dramatically Kikakee made the only two substitutions of the entire week. And they cost him dearly. This opened the door to the field and it would be Baby Draw who mounted a charge to the top. Carding the round of the day from Jimmy Walker he found himself with a chance to break the winless streak when Koepka and Sergio went into a sudden death playoff. If Serigo won it - Baby Draw reigned supreme. If Koepka won it - it would be Papa Pilgrim who finally broke through. And with Koepka's drive sailing wide right and into its watery grave the tournament was all but over. Sergio ended Baby Draw's long awaited winless streak with a par on the first playoff hole. It's been a long time coming for Baby Draw and he can finally call himself a champion once again. Congrats Baby Draw.
2nd Place
Taylormade had several chances to win it but while Kikakee's subs were his downfall, Taylormade's lack of subs were his demise. After the dust settled Taylormade had to be happy with his drafting prowess as he'd picked both the 1st and 2nd place finisher. As Sergio and Brooks entered the playoff he was sitting pretty as he was assured all the bonus points that would come from it - no matter who won. But even this would not be enough to catch Baby Draw as he'd handicapped himself early by not getting some key rounds from his bench players (only subbing once all week). This is only his 3rd Top 10 of the season and is his first Top 3 - finally breaking into the money as he collected his first paycheck. Currently in 23rd for the season and 20th for the segment his sole purpose at this point is to win some cash before the year wraps up. He's got plenty of time.
3rd Place
Papa Pilgrim finally broke back into the Top 3 for the first time since the Valspar Championship back in week 10. Despite the absence he's certainly been clocking in for work everyday as he's maintained his 5th place status for the season and keeps grinding away to collect Top 10s here and there. As the segment has eclipsed the halfway point Papa can consider himself still in the hunt at 85 points back but it would take a concerted effort to bridge that gap. Top 3s like this are one way to do just that though. Papa snagged his 9th Top 10 of the season and is in 2nd overall in total bonus points with 255. A Koepka win could have sealed the deal for him - ending his own winless streak stretching back to week 24 of last year when he won at The Travelers. It's a step in the right direction though.
Notables
4th - Tourball managed to sneak into the Top 10 for just the 4th time this season and this 4th place finish is his second of the year. He's come so close to breaking into the Top 3 both times but its a case of too little too often. His stat lines are tough to look at as he's currently ranked 31st in season bonus points and has only picked 3 winning golfers all year. He's also below league average in total bonus points from 2nd and 3rd place players but despite these troubling stat lines he's managed to do just a little better than his line would suggest by holding down the 18th position for the season. He did crack the Top 10 in the standings once back in week 11 but has faded since then. He's on a small resurgence over the last few weeks though so he's starting to build some momentum.
T5th - Short Strokes has put together a tidy little Spring segment so far as he's collected a total of 6 Top 10s so far and this one is his third in a row. He also managed to snag his win this segment back in week 13 and sits at the top of the segment with the lead. It's a tenuous lead though at best as Michelson and Gophers are right on his heels, followed by a host of contenders. Strokes will need to keep up this torrid pace of play if he wants to stave off the competition and that's no easy task. He's got 4 more weeks to hold on and the Spring title is his. This is shaping up to be the closest segment finish we've had to date. Short Strokes has taken over the season bonus points lead from Papa Pilgrim as he's accumulated far more non-winner bonus points this segment than any other team in the league. That's the kind of stat line it'll take to win a segment title.
T5th - It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone. Kikakee Tees has tasted the good life of fantasy golf. He's a multiple winner on tour this year and has been rising in the standings for weeks. And on Sunday Kikakee was in fine form once again - leading the pack with a chance to win and add more gold to his treasure trove. But just as the fantasy golfing gods giveth, so they taketh away. No one knows why he did it. He had a stellar lineup which he'd stuck with the whole week. But something made him go to the bench on Sunday and put in subs that would directly result in his utter collapse. It was a heartbreaking fall for The Tees as he had victory in his grasp.
T7th - Talkeetna98 doesn't know the meaning of the word mediocre. He's a veteran of the First Timers League for 3 years now and he has yet to have a sub par season. And 2016 is no different. He continues to collect Top 10s at a torrid pace (tied for 4th with 9). He leads the league in Top 3s with 6 (2 more than his closest competitor) and currently holds down the 3rd place positions for the season. Talkeetna98 is ranked surprisingly low in total season bonus points as he's collected only 165 and is in 18th place for this category. He's failed to garner quality bonus points from 2nd and 3rd place players so far as he sits just above league average for this metric. He's sure to keep on pumping out quality finishes though and his next target is overtaking Short Strokes for the season 2nd place position along with a push for the Spring Segment for which he's only 57 points back with 4 weeks to play.T7th - Michelson continues to set the pace for the season as she's now led in the standings for 12 weeks. The hot shot rookie had showed signs early in the Spring of slowing down but then she put her foot back on the gas peddle and is now contending for the Spring Segment title to go along with her Winter title. Short Strokes and Gophers are her other two main competitors as all three have been sparring pretty aggressively over the last 8 weeks. Michelson is doing more than hold her own though as she stretches her league lead in Top 10 finishes to 15. Remarkably, she's ahead of the pace set by Gophers last year who's the all-time record holder for Top 10s with 25. Can she keep the pace up and set a new league record?
9th - DaHoffa has quietly been putting together a nice little Spring Segment for himself. Despite a rough start to the season during the Winter he's turned things around considerably and has a legitimate shot to make a run for the Spring title. Of his total 6 Top 10s, 4 have come in the Spring (including a Top 3). He's only 35 points off the pace of Short Strokes and needs to put together some quality rosters over the next 4 weeks to make up ground. In his rookie campaign DaHoffa has not yet carded a victory and if he's going to win the segment it's probably going to have to happen before then. Look for DaHoffa to make a charge in the final month.
10th - Tomte once held a coveted spot in the hearts of fantasy golf fans the world around. Her rise to greatness in 2015 was unprecedented as she won 3 tournaments to go along with her 17 Top 10 finishes. But since then she's cooled somewhat as fantasy golf has taken a back seat to raising the league trophy namesake. But despite the high expectations from her fans they still can be seen throughout the gallery at fantasy events carrying their little Tomte dolls in hopes of an autograph. She's still managed to get 8 Top 10s in 2015 and currently holds down 10th place overall. She's only got 1 Top 3 though and is still looking for that elusive win. It can't be too far off.
THIS WEEK the battle camp shifts location to just down the road in Fort Worth, TX. The tournament, previously known as the Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial, has a new sponsor this year and is now called the Dean & Deluca Invitational (not the best sounding name for a PGA event but what can you do). The defending champ this week is the elusive Rug Munchers, a more prominent fixture on fantasy tour back in 2015 he's faded from view this season with only 3 Top 10s to his name so far. He'll look to regain some status and perhaps break out of the doldrums with fan support solidly behind him in Fort Worth. Two of the headliners are Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott as both the native Texan and the Aussie tend to play well in the Lone Star State. But time will tell. Saddle up for the Spring Segment's home stretch as the action is sure to be intense.
| Pos | Byron Neson Championship | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Total | |
| 1 | Baby Draw^3 | 52 | 36 | 38 | 64 | 195 | |
| 2 | Taylormade | 50 | 42 | 38 | 54 | 184 | |
| 3 | Papa Pilgrim | 50 | 36 | 52 | 39 | 177 | |
| 4 | Tourball | 50 | 48 | 36 | 42 | 176 | |
| 5 | Short Strokes | 56 | 34 | 40 | 45 | 175 | |
| 5 | Kikakee Tees | 62 | 46 | 40 | 27 | 175 | |
| 7 | Talkeetna98 | 48 | 54 | 41 | 30 | 173 | |
| 7 | Michelson | 50 | 34 | 44 | 45 | 173 | |
| 9 | DaHoffa | 52 | 42 | 45 | 32 | 171 | |
| 10 | Tomte | 38 | 52 | 36 | 44 | 170 | |
| 11 | GrampaLevs | 36 | 36 | 168 | |||
| 12 | Where Eagles Dare | 30 | 38 | 161 | |||
| 12 | Mastersway | 36 | 34 | 161 | |||
| 12 | Kings Deer | 44 | 40 | 161 | |||
| 12 | Halve Ouimet | 58 | 28 | 161 | |||
| 12 | Chubbs 'Part Time' Peterson | 54 | 34 | 161 | |||
| 17 | Gophers | 48 | 40 | 159 | |||
| 18 | 2 footer | 50 | 44 | 158 | |||
| 19 | Hogan's Heros | 54 | 34 | 153 | |||
| 20 | Night Putting | 36 | 42 | 146 | |||
| 21 | Whiny Little Pitch | 30 | 44 | 145 | |||
| 22 | IN YOUR LIFE! | 16 | 34 | 139 | |||
| 23 | Mother Rabbit | 42 | 28 | 138 | |||
| 24 | Show and Dough | 38 | 42 | 136 | |||
| 24 | Jowls | 38 | 40 | 136 | |||
| 26 | TIGER WOULD PUTT!! | 22 | 40 | 130 | |||
| 27 | Rug Munchers | 38 | 34 | 123 | |||
| 28 | Freeside Links | 50 | 24 | 120 | |||
| 28 | Eat My Grind | 40 | 32 | 120 | |||
| 30 | Marlowe Dubuisson | 36 | 18 | 102 | |||
| 31 | That's Wet! | 46 | 20 | 100 | |||
| 32 | Haney's Got a Gun | 30 | 28 | 82 | |||
| 33 | 4 Hitting 5 | 20 | 12 | 72 | |||
| 34 | BurningTime | 24 | 14 | 67 | |||
| 35 | Swing Easy When It's Breezy | 6 | 18 | 48 | |||
| 36 | Salad Thongs | 4 | 8 | 12 | |||
| 37 | BevGin&Tonic | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
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