The story in the fantasy world wasn't a perfect mirror of events on the actual course but they came pretty close. The seasoned veteran Tomte jumped out to an early lead and looked to be regaining her old form. The formidable foe Kikakee Tees put his name in the mix with a weekend charge, trying to decide if the time was right to get his first win of 2017. Also in the mix was the salty veteran Papa Pilgrim who's toyed with success so many times but hasn't been able to close when the opportunity presents itself. All notable names but none would walk away with the title. That honor would got to a relatively unsung fantasy grinder, one who's just cutting her teeth during her rookie season and making waves in the process. It was only a matter of time before Driving Miss Daisy proved that she could hang with the best fantasy tour players in the land. And on Sunday she did just that, notching her maiden victory with career win #1. It's a special moment for any fantasy golfer when they win their first. For Miss Daisy, it has the potential to be the first of many. She made the right subs down the stretch despite some missed rounds early on. She had the trifecta of finishers, carding 40 bonus points from Kisner, Spieth and Rahm. She takes home the $20 paycheck and climbs into 3rd for the Spring Segment. Look out for Driving Miss Daisy because she's got her foot on the gas. Congrats.
Runner Up
Papa Pilgrim fought the good fight. He drafted top finishers - collecting him 40 bonus points. He was there in the final moments with a chance to win. But like too many times before he just could not close the door on his first victory in over a year. He came up short by just 4 points on Sunday, his subbing getting the better of him once again. It's an infuriating game when trying to field the perfect roster each round. Golfers scores don't really follow any preconceived patterns and picking the best rounds is about the same as picking the winner in the 2032 presidential election. No one knows. It is Papa's first runner up finish though and first payday. He's going to look to build off this experience and has that much more experience when trying to close it out next time.
Third Place
Kikakee Tees has been red hot as of late and is riding high at the moment coming off his 5th Top 3. He's really turned things on as the Spring Segment has rolled on and officially ousted Short Strokes from the top spot last week. He's got both the 1st position for the Season and Segment with some room to spare. We've all seen leads get taken away, especially with just a few weeks to play in a segment, but Kikakee is doing exactly what he set out to do when the season started - win a Segment. He's just 3 weeks away from accomplishing that goal and has a 40 point lead. There'll be no resting on his laurels though as he'll need to put 3 solid tournaments together if he's going to fend off the likes of Short Strokes.
Notables
Where Eagles Dare has put together a nice little Spring Segment and finds himself in 4th place with just 3 weeks left to play. It's a huge improvement for Eagles from the Winter as he's finally figured out his swing and is stroking the ball beautifully. Eagles snagged the 4th place position at Colonial to match his spot in the Spring standings and got his 6th Top 10 overall. He's just about 100 points back from the segment leader but it's entirely possible for the veteran to put together a charge for the ages and make a run at his first segment title.
Short Strokes continues to throw his weight around the First Timers League and just got his league leading 13th Top 10. He's managed to score this type of quality finish in over two thirds of the tournaments played. He's somehow lost his segment and season lead to Kikakee but is still right in the hunt. Despite his Hall of Fame career so far he has yet to win a Segment which is like Dan Marino never getting his Super Bowl title, almost. Strokes already has his Super Bowl title in the Jackson Cup but he sure would like to add a segment title to his fantasy trophy case.
Grampa Levs is making a case for comeback player of the segment when compared to the winter. If it weren't for the stellar play of Where Eagles Dare he'd be the clear candidate. Grampa has captured 5 Top 10s which is a segment second best and he currently finds himself tied for 10th. It's still doesn't put him in position to contend for the title but it's a far cry from his mediocre winter. Look for Grampa to continue to rise as the weather warms.
Where has Tomte been? The gritty veteran was absent from the top finishes we'd grown to expect from her circa 2015. But she dusted off the cobwebs last week in Texas and we saw shades of brilliance as she strode to the top of the leaderboard, if only for a minute. It's her first Top 10 since week 9 at the WGC Mexico Championship and a sorely needed one as well. Tomte has slide in the standings overall but this performance bumped her back into the Top 10 overall and she's back in business. Tomte is still looking for her first win since late 2015 but this big finish is just the ticket to get her back on the right track.
BevGin&Tonic is having a career season and not just by his own standards. After notching 1 win in each of his first two seasons he's already managed to scrap out two victories in 2017 and the season is just over halfway done. Bev is tied for 4th in earnings with $40 and keeps nipping at Top 3 finishes to pad his bankroll. He's got a total of 6 Top 10s and 3 Top 3s but the one blemish on his season is his rank in the standings. A lack of consistency has put him in 24th place, making him the lowest ranked team with the highest earnings. A special reputation indeed.
Gophers has now made up ground in 3 consecutive weeks and is squarely in 4th place overall. TheGophers certainly isn't done yet so look for him to make another run at the Jackson Cup title over the Summer Segment.
Eat My Grind is one of the leagues rare sightings inside the Top 10 as this is just his 3rd appearance of the season. Grind hasn't quite been the grinder of years past and currently sits in 25th overall. With zero Top 3s his season is certainly lacking but there's still plenty of time for him to stage a resurgence. With the talented field in play though it will certainly bill a tall ask.
THIS WEEK the stage shifts over to Jack's Place for the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. The action is already underway and most teams managed to field a full roster so there's sure to be heavy competition. With just three weeks to go all eyes are on the segment leader and his trailing competition. Kikakee is trying to finish strong while Short Strokes and Driving Miss Daisy are in the pursuit of their lives. Fortunes will rise and fall with each stroke and missed cut and Jack's Place is certainly no place to be timid about your game. Miss Daisy is the only one of the three to have a different enough roster to make up ground (or lose it big). But Short Strokes won't be making up much ground in round 1 at least. Best of luck to all this week at the Memorial Tournament.
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