The four final weeks are upon us as the FedExCup Playoffs kick things off. The tournament fields will go from 125 at the Barclays, to 100 at the Deutsche Bank, to 70 at the BMW Championship and then 30 at the Tour Championship. With starts running out you'll need to pick wisely.
Race for the Jackson Cup
Short Strokes and Michelson are locked in an epic battle for the Jackson Cup as Short Strokes has the lead by 64 points. Michelson will need to make a charge starting now to make it close. Things could come down to the final week which would make for the most dramatic finish in league history.
Summer Segment
Short Strokes is also pulling away from the field for the Summer Segment as he's got a 56 point lead over DaHoffa. He could be the first team, if he holds his leads, to ever win the Season Title and Summer Segment Title at the same time.
Stories to Watch
Top 10s
Short Strokes has the league lead with 19 Top 10s but Michelson is giving chase with 18 of her own. The all time record is held by Gophers with 25 in 2015 so no one is in position to break his record this year. With both teams racing for the Jackson Cup look for the winner to also have the most Top 10s by the time everything is said and done. Whiny Little Pitch theoretically could win this category outright but she would need more than luck on her side. With 4 tournaments left she'd need to finish Top 10 in each of them with both Short Strokes and Michelson not getting any.
Season Earnings
Several teams are on the verge of cracking that $40 mark with 2 Footer ($39), Talkeetna98 ($37) and Eat My Grind ($34) all right there. Surprisingly, league leader Short Strokes has only accrued $31 so far but look for that number to jump significantly after his end of the season payout.
Some surprise low earners this year are Hogan's Heros ($2), Tomte ($6) and Freeside Links ($9). Talk about night and day from their earnings last year. In 2015, Freeside won $40, Tomte won $85 and Hogan's took home $170. They've had to readjust their budgets this year. No more private jets and sprawling mansion rentals for them on Fantasy Tour.
Winners Picked
This category is highly contested as Papa Pilgrim holds the lead with 13 winners picked so far this year (40% of the time, he picks a winner every time). But with 4 teams right behind him with 12 winners picked he better keep up the pace if he wants to end as the Season Bonus Points leader.
A surprise face on this leaderboard is GrampaLevs as he hasn't won a single tournament so far this year. He also has only 6 Top 10s this year and is ranked 23rd in earnings. But despite this the man knows how to pick a winner and is ranked 12th in Total Bonus points this year.
Season Bonus Points
Short Strokes has certainly had a dominant season so far and most all his stat categories reflect this. He leads in Season Bonus Points with Papa Pilgrim and Michelson close behind. And with so many big names in the field over the next 4 weeks it will be important to pick the right ones as bonus points will be crucial in making up ground on the field. Expect the winner of the season and segment to lead the league in bonus points, winners picked, earnings and Top 10s.
Gophers, 2 Footer and Whiny Little Pitch are far enough behind the leaders but still battling out amongst themselves as only 20 points separates them.
Wins
This category has two unexpected contenders at the top and both of them are league veterans. Basically, they know how to close when they've got victory in their grasp. Where Eagles Dare and Show and Dough have both accumulated 3 wins apiece. If either of them wants to take the outright lead in this category it's going to take some extra special for them to pull out a win during the FedExCup Playoffs.
With 7 teams sitting at 2 wins there are several that are looking to get the trifecta. Of these teams, experts are betting on Michelson and DaHoffa to be the most likely to get a win in the final 4 weeks.
Non-Winner Bonus Points
This is more of a fringe statistic but it does reflect a team's ability to grind it out by getting every extra bonus point available. Once again, Short Strokes and Michelson have simply dominated their competition as they are 1 and 2 for this metric. The surprise 3rd place team is Halve Ouimet who hasn't contended for a Segment or Season Title this year but he seems to halve a knack for scooping up 2nd and 3rd place finishers. You can also expect the Season winner to lead the league in this category as well.
This is the category that is Hogan's Heros one redeeming grace as he's done pretty well in picking 2nd and 3rd place finishers. Despite his lack of wins and Top 3s he has managed a 12th place spot at the moment and is threatening to break into the Top 10. TBD.
Road Ahead
With the final 4 weeks now underway there are many races still playing out. Foremost, the Race for the Jackson Cup. At no other time in this league's long and storied history (3 years) has the league champion been undecided this late in the season. In 2014 it was Tiger Would Putt (then known as Strangers) who had a commanding lead near the end with no one offering a significant challenge. In 2015 it was Gophers who ran away with the title and pretty much wrapped things up by mid August. This year it's quite a different story as Short Strokes and Michelson are locked in an epic battle. The contest could tighten or Short Strokes could pull away. But at the moment, every point counts.
Baby Draw has had a solid season and has all but wrapped up a 3rd place finish - his highest finish in his fantasy tour career.
A major battle is being waged for 4th and 5th place as Whiny Little Pitch (4,564), Gophers (4,560), Papa Pilgrim (4,539) and DaHoffa (4,530) are going all out over the final weeks to finish in the money.
Best of luck to everyone out there - whether it's that first season victory being chased or a few extra bucks to pad the season earnings. Draft wisely and substitute cautiously. The 2016 season is in the home stretch.
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