Tomte staked her claim at the halfway point and survived on a skeleton crew until the second cut eliminated her one remaining C player. Papa Pilgrim found himself tied for the lead heading into Sunday but a final round without bonus points just wouldn't suffice. Mastersway made a bid for the top but couldn't sustain his quick start. With a semi dark horse winner in John Rahm there would be only one team who collected the 20 bonus points - Kikakee Tees. MR. SLUMAN was one of the few to have Chucky Three Sticks and collect his 10 bonus points. But all would fall just shy of the mark. The opportunity was rife and the dormant champ of seasons past would rise to fill the void. And so, with a full head of steam and a roster with only 4 active players remaining, Gophers surged to the front and out-dueled the competition by just 8 points to win his first title of 2017. Since his entry into the league 2 years ago, Gophers has been a closer. With this win he becomes the winningest team in the modern era (2015-2017) with 6 career wins. He made the correct subs when it counted and closed once again. Congrats Gophers.
The 2017 Farmers Insurance Open will forever be remembered as the Challenge Of The Champs as it was perhaps the first ever tournament where two former Jackson Cup Champs have finished one-two. MR. SLUMAN gave Gophers a run for his money but an unfortunate sub from Howell to Snedeker in the 3rd round was his undoing. It cost him 12 total points after all was said and done which would have captured him the title by 4 points. Sluman has started off on the right foot however and is easily the hottest player on fantasy tour at the moment with 3 Top 10s, 2 Top 3 and 1 win. The stats don't lie and it's consistency that wins segments. Only missing one Top 10 finish so far, Sluman will try to continue his hot hand in the desert this week at TPC Scottsdale.
Third Place
If Sluman is the hottest player stats-wise then the 3rd place finisher can't be too far behind him. Kikakee Tees captured his 3rd Top 10 and 2nd Top 3 of the season at Torry Pines but unfortunately is without that win to afford him elite status. With the consistent finishes that he's been racking up though the win can't be too long in the making. After starting the season in 20th place, Kikakee has risen each week. Finding the 5th place spot by week 2, he then moved into 2nd place by week 3 and now has sole possession of first after week 4. Can he hold onto the highly sought after spot though? Few have. But Kikakee will certainly be putting up a fight.
Notables:
Tomte has had some near misses when it comes to breaking into the Top 3 so far. Just two weeks ago in the Sony Open she finished T4 and then at the Farmers she had yet another 4th place finish. She entered Sunday tied for the 54 hole lead but succumbed to the curse of the final round lead. Perhaps it's too early in the season for Tomte to be lighting it up as she has normally reserved the fireworks for warmer weather. But she's started the season out in fine form and has the 2nd place position at the moment. The real challenge for teams near the top will be to make sure they've fielded a full active roster each week since there are no dropped scores this year. But Tomte has the keen eye for player picks and the resoluteness to see the job done right. Welcome back to the Top 10 Talkeetna98, 2 Footer and Mastersway. It's their first Top 10 finish this year and they're glad to get it out of the way. For Talkeetna98, he's behind his usual pace as he'd already collected 2 Top 3s by this time last year. 2 Footer is probably the farthest off his pace as he'd miraculously won 2 tournaments before week 4. For Mastersway, he's ahead of schedule as he didn't collect his first Top 10 until week 13 last year. Both Talkeetna and Mastersway find themselves outside the Top 10 overall at the moment but Talkeetna98 is knocking at the door in 11th place. Mastersway is currently in 20th place with a lot of work to do if he wants to contend for a segment of the Jackson Cup. 2 Footer is sitting pretty in 6th place at the moment though and has been performing well with over 36 points per round - nearly 14 points above league average.
Papa Pilgrim had a shot to end a fairly dry spell in the scope of his fantasy career as he entered the final round tied for the lead. There wasn't much he could do however as the bonus opportunities simply weren't there and he was surpassed in the end. The Pilgrim fell back into 5th place but still comes away with his 2nd Top 10 of the young season. In his 4 starts he's averaging a 13th place finish but clearly has outperformed that as he currently sits in 9th place. That's a clear sign of a solid performance during regulation play and he's collected 35.5 points/round which is 11.26 points above league average. He's trailing the league average in bonus points by a slim margin so he'll look to continue picking winners to shore up points on that front.
THIS WEEK the show heads to the desert to take on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale and the famous par 3 16th. The fans will be there en mass and wildly roaring for someone to appease their salubrious need to see an ace. Last year, it was Talkeetna98 who gave the fans what they wanted as he rolled out his first win of the 2016 season. His status this week is unique as he enters the Waste Management Phoenix Open as the league's only 2-time defending champ - winning this event the past two years. He has a chance to make history once again if he can win it for a third consecutive year. He's the Bubba Watson of the Stadium Course - the fans love him. But he's got a target on his back as the league is hungry for wins and there simply aren't enough to go around. The Waste Management Phoenix Open rolls up next as week 5 gets underway in Arizona.
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