It was exactly 50 weeks ago that TIGER WOULD PUTT - then known as Strangers - stepped out of the shadows and into the winner's spotlight. The Valero Texas Open in late March of 2015 was the last time TIGER WOULD PUTT hoisted the winner's trophy and laid claim to the title of champion. And it was bitter sweet as the trophy had to be shared with co-winner Tomte. But now, over a year later, TIGER WOULD PUTT has finally reclaimed the glory he once had. At the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational he made all the right moves to end the drought and win on one of golf's biggest stages. It didn't come easy though as he had to fend off some fierce competition coming from the likes of his father - GrampaLevs.The two Levins dueled it out over the final 18 holes on Sunday for a chance to win their first title of 2016. In the end, TIGER WOULD PUTT edged out his namesake by a mere 3 points to claim his first solo victory since 2014. A momentous occasion for the 2014 Jackson Cup winner as many wondered if the old champ would ever regain his form. He did it in a big way on Sunday at Firestone and adds a new addition to the trophy case along with a $20 payout to the fantasy bank. Congrats TIGER WOULD PUTT!
While GrampaLevs would come up just 3 points shy of his maiden victory on fantasy tour he did manage to tie his best finish so far this season with his 2nd runner-up finish. The season has been touch and go for the rookie as he's only managed to get 5 Top 10s. He's got some cash in the bank though and is now hungry for the breakthrough victory that he's been so close to achieving now twice. There's no better position to be when entering a Major than the previous tourney's runner-up as the senses are sharpened and taste for victory unsatisfied. Look for GrampaLevs to leave tracks at Troon next for The Open Championship.
Two vets managed to climb their way into the Top 3 at Firestone and share 3rd place last week as Hogan's Heros and Kikakee Tees split the paycheck. For Hogan's it's been a slog to collect meaningful finishes on fantasy tour as this was surprisingly his first Top 3 of the season. The former heavyweight contender lead the league in Top 3s just one year ago with 10 but has fallen from grace this year considerably. He's been getting offers from the Golf Channel to sit alongside David Duval as one of the stations analysts but after this finish at Firestone he's decided to stay in the game and slug it out in search of another win. You gotta like his chances entering The Open as he's primed for another solid finish. Kikakee is on a bit of a hot streak at the moment as this T3 finish was his 2nd Top 3 in 4 weeks and 4th Top 10 in 7. He's consistently climbed the standings for some time now and sits in 10th place at the moment. An early WD from Koepka hobbled him out of the gate but he recovered with solid rounds from the rest of his squad through the week. Kikakee is another favorite at Troon next week due to his recent performance but his record on links courses hasn't been stellar - finishing outside the Top 10 at last year's Open Championship as well as the links style course at Chambers Bay last year. He's due.
Notables and Favorites for The Open Championship:
Jowls is an obvious favorite next week at Troon as both his track record at The Open and his recent Tomte's summer rampage last year by outpacing her for the win at St. Andrews. He then challenged at the PGA Championship by finishing T4. Fresh off his runner-up finish at Congressional two weeks ago he's clearly ready for the season's 3rd Major - not to mention his T5 finish last week at Firestone. Watch for Jowls to challenge at Troon.
Eat My Grind snagged his 9th Top 10 last week by carding a T5 finish and enters The Open on the right foot. In his second year of play he's knocking on the door to the overall Top 10 and next week at Troon could be his ticket in. Last year he finished strong at St. Andrews with a 7th place finish so clearly feels right at home on the links style courses. Grind has already won twice this year so he's got the experience of closing the door on Sunday to help him out. With a larger payout than usual due to the winnings from the canceled Greenbrier Classic being rolled over there's a lot on the line.
Burning Time seemed to come out of nowhere last week to get just his 3rd Top 10 of the season. Despite winning a tournament back in Puerto Rico he hasn't done much else. He isn't cracking into the top 10 on anyone's power rankings for The Open but perhaps the underdog likes things that way. No media pressure before the tournament. Burning Time moved up one spot in the overall standings last week and now sits in second from last - a huge boost for his confidence for sure. Burning Time could be the biggest sleeper pick of the year next week at Troon.
The Race for the Jackson Cup is heating up with 10 weeks left in the season. In an surprising change of fortune Short Strokes has taken over the season lead after Michelson lead for 17 weeks. Only 4 points separates the two but it's the first time there's been an overall lead change this late in the season since 2014. Neither of them has shown up inside the Top 10 over the last 3 weeks which has several pundits clamoring that a 3rd option is now in play for the Jackson Cup and Baby Draw is his name. He's the dark horse in this race but is just within 100 points back of leader Short Strokes. Of the 3, Baby Draw has the momentum entering The Open as he's got 3 Top 3s and a wind in the last 7 weeks. This is shaping up to be the tightest race the league has seen.
Mother Rabbit has been quietly making a claim that she's not finished with the 2016 season just yet.The Rabbit is looking for fresh roughage off the course in the form of dollar bills in the fantasy bank account she'll be looking to avoid the roughage on the course as the fescue at Troon is to be avoided at all costs. While Mother Rabbit isn't sneaking into anyone's top 10 favorites for The Open she's a sleeper pick that has generated a bit of chatter. Despite being all the way back in 31st place for the season she's acquired 2 Top 10s in the last 3 weeks and let's not forget her win back in week 7 at Riviera.
 |
| Progression of 5 teams of note through the standings since week 1 |
As the Summer Segment starts to heat up so too does the appetite of Tomte for Top 10s. She's known for her ability to ratchet up her game during the summer months and she just snagged her first Top 10 last week at Firestone. In 2015 she somehow managed to snag 9 Top 10s, 5 Top 3s and a win at the PGA. She's currently knocking at the door to the overall Top 10 as she's in 11th place but if she picked up where she left off last summer we could see her charge all the way inside the Top 5 where the season payouts start to happen. Tomte finished in 2nd at The Open last year and is primed to go on another summer rampage.
Teams Due For A Win:
Papa Pilgrim - highest ranked team in the overall standings without a win
Michelson - has the most Top 10 finishes but only has 1 win; 2nd place overall
Talkeetna98 - has the most Top 3s in the league with 6 but only 1 win to show for it
Jowls - won here last year and has 10 Top 10s without a win
Hogan's Heros - critics are waiting on his return to form and following his T3 last week he's primed
That's Wet - with 10 Top 10s and 4 Top 3s he's easily one of the better teams on paper without a win
NEXT WEEK The Open Championship is set to be played at Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayreshire, Scotland. This historic tournament is one of the most anticipated golf events in the world as it's history dates all the way back to 1872 when Old Tom Morris was the first to be given the trophy for winning The Open. The Claret Jug is the 5th oldest trophy in the world behind a soccer trophy, sailing trophy, another golf trophy and an archery silver arrow trophy. In the fantasy world there's more than usual at stake due to the cancellation of the Greenbrier Classic this week. Because of this the winnings will be rolled into The Open Championship payouts; 1st = $40, 2nd = $16, 3rd = $8. It's going to be a showdown in Scotland so head to the draft room and pick your squad. Will the English reclaim the coveted jug from the American Zach Johnson? Will Dustin's hot hand propel him through the rugged terrain at Troon? Or will we see a van de Velde meltdown once again? These storylines have yet to be written. The playing of the 145th Open Championship is set to begin.
Full Leaderboard from WGC - Bridgestone Invitational
| Pos | WGC - Bridgestone Inv. | Rnd 1 | Rnd 2 | Rnd 3 | Rnd 4 | Total | |
| 1 | TIGER WOULD PUTT!! | - | - | - | - | 201 | |
| 2 | GrampaLevs | - | - | - | - | 198 | |
| 3 | Kikakee Tees | - | - | - | - | 195 | |
| 3 | Hogan's Heros | - | - | - | - | 195 | |
| 5 | Jowls | - | - | - | - | 189 | |
| 5 | Eat My Grind | - | - | - | - | 189 | |
| 7 | BurningTime | - | - | - | - | 188 | |
| 8 | Mother Rabbit | - | - | - | - | 180 | |
| 9 | Tomte | - | - | - | - | 176 | |
| 10 | Papa Pilgrim | - | - | - | - | 175 | |
| 11 | Short Strokes | - | - | - | - | 170 | |
| 12 | Haney's Got a Gun | - | - | - | - | 169 | |
| 13 | Show and Dough | - | - | - | - | 165 | |
| 14 | Kings Deer | - | - | - | - | 158 | |
| 14 | 4 Hitting 5 | - | - | - | - | 158 | |
| 16 | Night Putting | - | - | - | - | 156 | |
| 17 | Swing Easy When It's Breezy | - | - | - | - | 153 | |
| 18 | Taylormade | - | - | - | - | 152 | |
| 18 | Talkeetna98 | - | - | - | - | 152 | |
| 20 | Mastersway | - | - | - | - | 151 | |
| 21 | Rug Munchers | - | - | - | - | 149 | |
| 22 | Chubbs 'Part Time' Peterson | - | - | - | - | 147 | |
| 23 | 2 footer | - | - | - | - | 146 | |
| 24 | Halve Ouimet | - | - | - | - | 144 | |
| 25 | Baby Draw^3 | - | - | - | - | 142 | |
| 26 | IN YOUR LIFE! | - | - | - | - | 140 | |
| 27 | Where Eagles Dare | - | - | - | - | 134 | |
| 27 | BevGin&Tonic | - | - | - | - | 134 | |
| 29 | Gophers | - | - | - | - | 127 | |
| 30 | DaHoffa | - | - | - | - | 126 | |
| 31 | Freeside Links | - | - | - | - | 124 | |
| 32 | That's Wet! | - | - | - | - | 123 | |
| 33 | Michelson | - | - | - | - | 116 | |
| 34 | Whiny Little Pitch | - | - | - | - | 109 | |
| 35 | Tourball | - | - | - | - | 94 | |
| 36 | Marlowe Dubuisson | - | - | - | - | 92 | |
| 37 | Salad Thongs | - | - | - | - | 0 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment