Gophers Goes On Tear As He Wins 3rd Title This Segment At Honda Classic

The past two weeks on the PGA Tour have presented golf fans with a fairly anticlimactic final round on Sunday as both 54 hole leaders were arguably a lock for the win before Sunday even began. Both leaders in fact did end up wining - Dustin last week and now Rickie - but Sunday at the Honda Classic presented viewers with at least the possibility of some drama. Since winning The Players Championship over a year ago Fowler has had several chances to close a tournament after having the 54 hole lead but failed to do so each time. So Sunday would either result in Fowler's continuing inability to close a tournament out or his breakout performance that finally got the monkey off his back. Fortunately for Fowler, and every fantasy team that had him, he did the latter and got his first win since 2015. Fowler's dominance has never been a sure bet but he can certainly put when he needs to. 


The tale of the tape from the Fantasy perspective could not be more opposite as there has been nothing but dominance on fantasy tour by this year's Honda Classic champion. He's been a force in the league since his emergence on the scene back in 2015 and he's showing no signs of letting up. And on Sunday, Gophers showed once again why he's an elite fantasy golfer by closing out his 2nd win in a row and 3rd of the Winter Segment.

It was not a foregone conclusion however and if it weren't for a complete Sunday meltdown from Kings Deer and Freeside Links the result would probably be different. Kings also missed a sub following Friday's cut line which also would have secured the tournament for him had he not missed that round. But all's fair in love and fantasy golf and ]the 8th winner of the 2017 season was crowned as Gophers reigns supreme once again. Congrats Gophers. 


















Runners-Up

If Gophers is the steroid-era Mark McGuire of fantasy golf then Short Strokes is Slammin' Sammy. Strokes hasn't taken long to regain his form after the off-season which consisted of nothing but late night parties and drinking Dom from the Jackson Cup each night. He has successfully drafted 6 of the 8 winners so far this season and leads the league in Bonus Points. And after a brief flirtation with 1st place back in week 2 he's back in the top spot once again. He's going for his first career Segment Championship but the field is tightly packed right on his heels. With 3 weeks to go before the segment wraps up it's anybody's game but they'll have to go through Short Strokes to get it. 

Jose Maria Oblazabong and Kings Deer were both in the hunt for their second and first wins, respectively. Oblazabong has been blazing a new path for himself this year and is in the midst of contending for the Winter Segment. He carved out his second Top 3 last week and 5th Top 10. He's currently in 4th place overall and just 20 points back form the lead. Kings Deer has been on something of a roller coaster ride so far as he's put himself in contention for the victory several times but then fades back after a bad round. And if it weren't for his missed substitution after the cut at the Honda he'd be walking away a winner instead of Gophers. But he can't dwell on the past - only learn from it - as he's knocking on the door to the Top 10 and currently in 12th. It's the King's first Top 3 and 4th Top 10. 

The Winter Segment Hunt Is On

Top 10 Standings Progression From Week 6 Through Week 8

The race to close out the Segment is heating up as the contenders enter the home stretch. Just three weeks to go and plenty of points to be gained (and lost) as roughly 8 teams are squarely in the hunt. Short Strokes has a minute lead with hot shot Gophers breathing down his neck. 2 Footer and Jose Maria Oblazabong aren't far off their pace and both are hungry for their first Segment Championship with it's $50 prize. Talkeetna98 is a team who's probably most deserving of a Segment Championship due to his constant performance above standards. But Championships aren't handed out based on sympathy. Baby Draw was solidly among the leaders but faded last week after his roster didn't survive intact after the cut. Kikakee Tees is 47 points back and is a legitimate contender to come from the behind. He missed out on winner bonus points two weeks ago due to schedule adjustments and could have been even better off entering the home stretch. Tomte has her eye on consecutive wrap-around Segment Championships as she won the most recent segment from 2016. She'll have to put her foot on the gas though if she's going to make up ground on the talented field in front of her. 

With the WGC-Mexico up next there will be a small field of players but plenty of studs to chose from which should spread the field a bit and cause some bigger than usual winners and losers. The world's 60 best golfers get an invite to this event with guaranteed cash since there is no cut. 

Notables

Freeside Links decided to join the party last week at PGA National and showed up to play some fantasy golf. He's been an elusive bird so far this season and not many sightings have been reported. His 4th place finish at the Honda is, in fact, is his first Top 10 of the season and is, by anyone's standards, a slow start indeed. The former Master's champ must be struggling with swing adjustments and some media sources have reported that he's sent as many as 5 swing coaches to the firing squad. Not a good sign for Freeside overall but any time you can chalk up a Top 10 things are looking up. Freeside currently sits in 20th place. 

Niblick 18 hasn't made quite the splash on fantasy tour that he was hoping for in his rookie campaign as he collects just his first Top 10 on a season that is already 1/4 of the way through. He does deserve credit however for being the second highest ranked rookie in the league so far as he's outperforming 50% of his freshmen class. Niblick grinded his way to a solo 6th place finish at the Honda, wheeling and dealing his way via substitutions each round. He'll have to consider this Segment his warmup as the Spring Segment will be his time to rise to the occasion. 

Halve Ouimet makes his first consecutive appearance inside the Top 10 with a 7th place finish at the Honda. He's put together a respectable Winter so far but hasn't cracked any skulls by any stretch. He hasn't finished higher than 6th in any of this 4 Top 10s so there seems to be a performance ceiling that's holing him back. Ouimet does have a seat at the discussion table as he's currently in 9th place and, with a lot of luck, has an outsider's chance of catching the Winter Segment leader in 3 week's time. Not probably but at 70 points back it's at least possible. 

DaHoffa makes his second appearance inside the Top 10 with a solo 8th place finish. He's been struggling to find his groove so far this season and hasn't quite regained his spark from last year. But following a new putting grip that he's been toying around with it wouldn't be surprising to see DaHoff start sinking puts from long range and translating them into Top 10s and 3s. He's a long way off the pace in 19th place but there'll be plenty of chances for him to rise up come Spring time. 

Total Winners Picked

Show & Dough made some headway last week with a 9th place finish and a much needed Top 10. She'd made one of the biggest mistakes a fantasy golfer can make when she failed to update her roster in week 3 which set her back handsomely. But she's made up ground since then and currently sits in 15th place. A far cry from her 30th place position as of week 4. She's a women on the rise and has her eye on the Spring Segment. As April looms she's started trying on her green jacket once again in preparation for her Master's defense. The Show is currently the lowest ranked team with the best stats. Hopefully her position in the world will soon follow suit. 

Rookie contender The Four Skins snagged his 2nd Top 10 on the back of a final round substitution in which he got winner Rickie Fowler into the action and so collected the 20 bonus points. It's a T10 for Four Skins and a positive sign for the freshman fantasy golfer. As he adjusts his game to contend with battle hardened veterans he's proven to be a savvy competitor and is quickly gaining a fan base on fantasy tour. Look for Four Skins to start cutting into the competition and making headway up the leaderboard. 

That's Wet has quietly been proving his mettle yet again on fantasy tour as he collected his 4th Top 10 of the young season. Despite it being his lowest showing inside the Top 10 (T10) he's still showing the field that he's going to be a contender. He currently sits just outside the overall Top 10 in 11th place but is sure to makeup ground along the way. Historically, he's always played well during the Winter Segment - snagging 4 Top 3s in 2016 and nearly winning the Segment in 2015. That's Wet has put together another solid Winter and he'll look to keep the momentum heading into warmer weather. 

THIS WEEK is a big one. It's the season's first World Golf Championship in Mexico City. The course is new so no golfer has an advantage of local knowledge. The move to Mexico puts a small hole in the Florida Swing as golfers have to leave the state only to return next week. The Europeans are coming over in droves and are looking to put up a good showing. The prize money is higher with $25 bills to the winner and $7 to second. There's plenty of superstars to chose from so the field should be spread out a bit.