Baby Draw Regains 2016 Form With Win In Phoenix

Another record setting attendance record was set in Phoenix last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open as more people attended the tournament in the first 3 days than all of Woodstock Music Festival. That was the pointless stat dragged out from obscurity by the brains at NBC Sports on Sunday just to show the world how awesome everyone thinks golf is. But mostly they were there to party on the 16th hole. And party they did. Just about the only thing they didn't ingest at the raucous stadium hole was the viewing of a hole in one - the tournament field went oh-for in aces. 

But in the fantasy field there were a few teams doing their own partying as the race to the top heated up on Sunday. And as the Super Bowl pregame party kicked off the Waste Management Phoenix Open was still going. Both Matsuyama and Simpson tied at the end of regulation and duked it out over 4 playoff holes before Hideki was recrowned champion for the 2nd year running. Talkeetna98 had big dreams of doing the same (for the 3rd year running) but his fourth round total couldn't keep pace with the top 2 teams - coming in 3rd for his first Top 3. It came down to 2 Footer and Baby Draw as both slugged it out on the back nine. 2 Footer gave chase with stellar rounds all week - missing only one lower round from his bench - while Baby Draw brilliantly drafted his roster which included both Matusyama and Simpson. As the final scores started to come in the scenario that every fantasy manager wishes for came true for Baby Draw with both his players in a playoff - assuring him all the bonus points. It was a foregone conclusion at that point as Baby Draw cruised into the winner's circle on wings of bonus points. He out-scored 2 Footer by just 10 points which is exactly the amount of bonus points that Webb Simpson got him. Baby Draw is looking like he's in late 2016 form when he went on a tear in the Fedex Cup Playoffs. It's his 2nd Top 10 so far and he's looking to add to it. Congrats Baby Draw. 

2nd Place

2 Footer made a good run at the title and very nearly began the road to repeating his early season success of 2016. He put together his best week on fantasy tour so far and is rewarded for his stellar play as he now sits alone at the top of the standings. He's led the league before which didn't end well for the 3 year veteran but he's older and wiser and perhaps knows how to handle the top spot. Look for 2 Footer to get a win under his belt before long. 

3rd Place

Talkeetna98 put on one hell of a show for the fans as he and Matsuyama were trying to pull off the elusive title defense. While Hideki successfully did it Talkeetna98 wasn't quite able to do it for a third consecutive year but it's bar far the best performance at a single tournament in league history. There's something about the desert that brings out the best in Talkeetna98's and he'll take a Top 3 finish to the bank every time. He's moved up in the standings as a result and now sits in solo 6th. 

Notables:

Show and Dough had a much needed resurgence in the dessert as she'd missed a roster a couple weeks back and fell off the pace hard. But a solid 4th place finish in Phoenix gave her the needed boost to regain confidence in her game and put her back on the right track. She definitely had the horses on her roster to get her the W but a few missed rounds on her bench handicapped her. Still, she had Oosthuizen which was telling as most left the South African in the locker room last week. Clearly she can still pick top 3 finishers as she came away with bonus from the winner and 3rd place.   

Total Points From Individual Rounds (No Bonus)

Papa Pilgrim has now strung together 2 consecutive 5th place finishes and is slowly climbing the leaderboard. The Pilgrim missed a couple rounds on his bench but overall accumulated just under 200 points which is a solid number to shoot for each week and will all but guarantee a Top 10 or 3. He now sits in 8th place and has a legitimate shot to spring all the way up to 4th if he plays his cards right at Pebble this week. 

A surprise finish for GrampaLevs catapulted him into a T5 finish alongside Papa Pilgrim. It's the first Top 10 of the season for GrampaLevs and a welcome site for the veteran as they haven't come all to frequently in the past. He is down near the bottom of the pack in the overall standings so it's safe to say he's a long shot for the Winter Segment title but certainly the season is young enough that nobody is really out of the running for the Jackson Cup. It's just a warm up Segment with more to come and Grampa is getting his Top 10 out of the way to clear the path for bigger finishes. 

That's Wet makes his second trip inside the Top 10 this season with a T7 in the dessert. He's like the Pat Perez of fantasy golf - you never know when he's going to flash his A game but when he does he can get the job done. With 4 Top 3s earch of the past two years he's clearly just warming up for higher ground. But it's been over a year since his last win on fantasy tour so he wants to get the monkey off his back early so he won't have to think about it down the stretch. That's Wet currently in 14th place and in striking distance for the Winter Segment. 

Total Bonus Thru 5 Weeks

Short Strokes had a much needed Top 10 finish as the defending Jackson Cup champ was slipping a bit in recent weeks. He started out hot but then faded several spots in week 3 and 4. But a solid T7 in Scottsdale gave him a nice boost in points and standings as he now sits in just inside the Top 10 in 10th place overall. Short Strokes is finding it a little bit harder to maintain the high standard he set for himself last year but so far so good - he's keeping pace and picking winners - currently leading the league in winners picked with 3. 

Gophers struggled most of the week and wasn't ever quite able to get the momentum firmly in his corner. He peppered his score with several low round scores throughout the week which kept him at arms length as the weekend progressed. Gophers did manage to get the 20 point bonus which boosted him to his league leading 4th Top 10 and solidly into 2nd place for the season. Coming off his win last week he's clearly on a running hot so look for him to make a showing of it at Pebble this week and perhaps snag his 4th consecutive Top 10 finish. After the halfway point in the Winter Segment Gophers is right in the thick of the hunt for the Segment Title - a title he is currently defending. 

The lone rookie to join the Top 10 was the rising start of Driving Miss Daisy. In her first year on the job she's already put together a tidy little resume for herself with 2 Top 10s and 1 Top 3. And she managed to get the 10th place finish in Phoenix without any C players! Missed cuts decimated her roster but she still prevailed and came into port with a solid finish and now sits in 15th place - the highest ranked rookie so far this season. Miss Daisy looks to Pebble Beach where she hope to keep her momentum and snag another Top 10 or perhaps even a win. 

THIS WEEK is either the most entertaining event of the season or the absolute worst event of the season. Despite the tournament taking place on one of the world's most iconic golf courses the act of viewing this celebrity-laden who's who is often times painful to watch. Somehow the pros maintain some kind of focus while Bill Murray and Justin Timberlake dance with the fans and flub ship shots. Still, it's an important event and one that can't be taken lightly. Eat My Grind certainly didn't last year as he outpaced the field and took home his career first. Most remember the tournament for the putt Phil missed on 18 to get him into a playoff with Vaughn Taylor. Others remember it for Taylor's wife who was beside herself upon realizing her husband had won. No matter. It's time for the Pebble Beach Pro Am with a 3 course lineup. Chose wisely.