As Winter Ends Two Champs Are Crowned - Fresh Beginnings Lay Ahead In Spring Segment

The First Timers League has seen its fair share of drama over it's 3.5 year tenure. Underdogs beating the odds, defending champions successfully defending and rogue picks actually paying off (think Chubbs Peterson's accidental pick of James Hahn in 2015). And whenever you think the strong will only continue getting stronger and the dark horses will continue to lurk in the shadows think again. So far this year the underdogs are showing they have some bight to their bark and it's not just going to be an all-star's paradise. Some of the league's big time contenders have yet to make it onto the Earnings Leaderboard yet as Kings Deer, Tomte, That's Wet, Papa Pilgrim and Talkeetna98 have $0 in their accounts. 

Last Sunday was the final event of the 11 week Winter Segment and it had all the makings of a Hollywood drama. The blockbuster leading man (Short Strokes), the gritty underdog (Jose Maria Oblazabong) and the favored daughter of fantasy golf (Whiny Little Pitch). As Oblazabong and Strokes dueled it out of the the segment title Whiny was writing a story of her own as she charged through ranks at Bay Hill, passing heavy hitting contenders on her way up the leaderboard. She managed card solid rounds each day despite a couple miscues from Finau and Stenson. As the final glints of sunlight danced across the fairways at Bay Hill Whiny was dispatching of her last competitors still remaining as 2 Footer, Four Skins, Taylormade and Mastersway just couldn't hold her off. She took home the title by the thinnest of margins, outscoring the runner-up in the final round by 14 points to win by 2. In a week that honored the King, Arnie would have been proud. It's Whiny's second win of the Winter and she's put herself back in the picture just in time for the Spring Segment. Congrats Whiny. 

There can be little doubt that the duel at Bay Hill between Strokes and Oblazabong was some of the best action we've seen. Strokes entered the week with the Winter lead but just by 7 points. They both played the same roster on Thursday and so the onus to sub was on Oblazabong. He did and they still scored the same amount of points. Entering the weekend the spread was still 7 favoring Strokes. But Strokes worst nightmare had come true. On what was one of the biggest stages of his young fantasy career, both his C players missed the cut. It was the worst case scenario for Short Strokes. 

Smelling blood, Oblazabong seized the opportunity and with the clear advantage of a full roster made one of the biggest statements of his career in the 3rd round - scoring 36 more points than Strokes to go up by 29. And with only 1 round to play, Strokes was searching for a miracle that wouldn't come. Oblazabong didn't let the pressure of the final round of the Segment go to his head and he finished strong - carding 52 final round points. It was a well fought fight from both contenders but the day belonged to Oblazabong. He called his shot in a pre-tournament statement, saying that he was going to come from behind in honor of the King. He did just that. It's his first career Segment Championship and he has fully resurrected his status from just one year ago. Congrats to Jose Maria 
Oblazabong - the Winter Segment Champion. 

Arnold Palmer Notables

Mastersway put together a nice three week stretch to end the Winter as he collected 2 Top 3s in that stretch and moved into 15 place overall. He's gained some ground on the leaderboard since week 1 but it hasn't been much - climbing 5 spots from his opening position. He's on the right track though with 2 Top 3s, his second overall and 4th Top 10 coming at Bay Hill. He'll need to have a solid Spring if he wants to be in the mix come September so he'll need to put his foot on the gas if he wants to break into the Top 10. 

Top 10 & Ties: Winners Picked (plus other finishing stats)

Kings Deer has had a nice breakout year after his opening season in 2015 where he carded just 5 Top 10s and 1 Top 3 all year. His T8 finish at Bay Hill is his 6th Top 1o already, passing his total for all of last year, and he currently sits in 13th place. He's been toying with the idea of entering the overall Top 1o but can't quite seem to make it stick. He's held court a handful of times there so far this season but hasn't been able to become a fixture. He's locked in an epic battle with about 5 other teams vying for position inside the Top 10 so he'll need to play solid over the the Spring if he is going to stand a chance. 

2 Footer nearly walked away with his first title of the 2017 season at Arnie's Place but let the lead fall through his hands. He takes away a 5th place finish though and his 4th Top 10 of the season. He leaps up the big board 6 spots and into 3rd place overall - a spot he held just a few weeks prior. "It's good to be back", is something I'm sure he would have said if interviewed. "I was worried my gallivanting ways in Italy would cause my play to suffer but it had quite the opposite effect." 

Where Eagles Dare got himself a much needed shot in the arm at the Arnold Palmer Invitational as he'd been lingering way to low on the leaderboard for a player of his caliber. Eagles has had some tough luck so far this season and is currently in 21st place. It's the highest position he's held this year so it mus feel good to be on the cusp of breaking into the Top 20 teams before long. His T6 finish last week was a nice confidence booster entering the Spring and he'll look to significantly add to his stats. He does have one championship to his name this year but it was a blip unfortunately and he'll look to regain consistency in his game as the weather warms. 




Spring Segment Spells New Life

Top 10 Money Earners

With a much needed week off between Winter and Spring Segments fantasy managers will be well rested, starting out fresh on a new quest. While the WGC Match Play event offers a nice reprieve for teams to clear their head they shouldn't get too relaxed as their full attention will be required very shortly. With April just around the corner that means only two things - and their both the same - the Masters is approaching. While the opening week of the Spring Segment will stay in the Lone Star State for the Shell Houston Open, everyone should be fine tuning their game for Augusta. Make sure to send your measurements to Augusta's Billy Payne as you'll want the green jacket to slide on with ease if you're the golfing god's pick to win this year. 

Show and Dough won't be handing her title of Masters Champ over easily and has been playing some good fantasy golf as of later. Her defense will be fierce but never before has there been so much talent in the field. But first, opening segment points are on the line in Humble, TX where Short Strokes is the defending champ at the Golf Club of Houston. He took down the title last year for his first career fantasy tour victory and it'll be a good venue for the Jackson Cup Champ to enter fresh off his tough defeat last week. 

Saddle up for the next Segment as the Spring kicks off in Houston. The season is just 1/3 of the way through and there's plenty of points left to be gleaned and many more leaderboard positions to be traded.