Tomte Goes Back-To-Back; 2 Footer Gains Summer Title; Short Strokes Retains the Jackson Cup

The mammoth marathon that was the 2017 fantasy golf season has come to an end. For some, it couldn't come soon enough as mediocrity had plagued them from the beginning. For others, things were just starting to heat up. But end it did on Sunday at the TOUR Championship as Justin Thomas took home the FedExCup and $10 million while rookie Xander Shauffele came from behind to win the TOUR Championship.


Inside the fantasy ropes the drama could not have been spicier. Teams jockeyed for final position and bragging rights as position in the standings were traded off like baseball card collections. The stage was set for a Sunday showdown the likes of which had never been seen in the First Timers League. Nothing was secure entering the final week as the Summer Segment and Jackson Cup were very much up for grabs. The fantasy media were in a frenzy as the day progressed, shooting off cables to their constituents with each birdie and wayward bounce. It all came down to one hole, to one chip, and then to one putt. Fantasy greatness awaited the outcome.

Race for the Jackson Cup

Never before in league history had the eventual Jackson Cup champion been undecided entering the final week. Once, in 2016, a mathematical probability existed that the leader could be displaced but no one entertained such an outcome. As Short Strokes entered the final week his lead was just 17 points and very tenuous. And even though the reigning Jackson Cup champ had been here before he'd never felt pressure quite like this. His fortunes would rise and fall with the outcome of each round over four gut wrenching days.

He didn't do himself any favors with his performance at the TOUR Championship as he garnered only 144 points in total - good enough for a lowly 29th place. But fortunately for him his lone competitor for the Jackson Cup would also struggle.

That's Wet managed to collect 168 points throughout the week and completed his first task of closing the gap. For Short Strokes the problem was he'd run out of starts with Justin Thomas as That's Wet was riding him hard towards the finish line. As Thomas birdied 2 of the final 3 holes That's Wet was so close he could taste it. Thomas was trying to get into a playoff with Xander Schauffele and, if he won, would give That's Wet 20 bonus points and the Jackson Cup. But if Schauffele birdied the last and won outright then That's Wet would only get 10 bonus points - falling short of the Cup by just 3 points. Schauffele played out of his mind and indeed birdied the last - sealing the deal and sending Short Strokes onto victory.

For Short Strokes, it's a dream come true. Growing up just down the street from a fantasy golf course he'd always dreamed of winning the Jackson Cup one day. And now, he's done it twice in consecutive years. Despite only winning once this season way back in week 6 he put together one of the most stoic season's seen in the league thus far. His 2017 Jackson Cup Title puts his name on the trophy once again and earns a season payout of $185. He's been the most solid player on fantasy tour over the past two years, garnering 41 Top 10s and $398 in earnings - the most in either category by far. He averaged 36.5 points per round this year and 10.14 bonus per week which turned out to be the winning formula.

He finishes the 2017 season with a boat load of accolades - 1st in earnings, 1st in Top 10s, T1 in Top 3s, T2 in Winners Picked, T2 in Regulation Points and 4th in Total Bonus Points. Short Strokes retains the Jackson Cup for another year and his legend continues to grow.

Ladies and gentlemen, the 2017 Jackson Cup Champion: 

Short Strokes.

Season Notables

That's Wet nearly accomplished the ultimate come back on Sunday as he had a chance to come from behind and take both the summer segment and season championships. It was a frustrating performance for the 3 year veteran as his 24th place finish at the TOUR Championship was certainly not what he was looking for. Still, it's another solid season for the pro and his second finish inside the overall Top 5. Over the course of the summer he averaged 39.77 points per round, gaining 3.69 points on leader Short Strokes each week. He made one of the most brilliant moves up the leaderboard over the course of the season, climbing 29 spots, slowly, from a 30th place finish in the opening week to second overall. Congrats on another solid season.

Kikakee Tees gave it everything he had towards the end but it was like watching a marathon runner who started his sprint just a few minutes too early. He was looking good and in control with 8 weeks to go but something just gave out and the picks just weren't producing. But over the summer months he led the league in Non-Winner Bonus points, averaging 7.69 points per week, nearly doubling his season average. But over the summer his points/round average was nearly 2 points lower than leader Short Strokes so the gap just couldn't be closed. Luck of the draw really does come into play as points left on the bench proved to be deadly to The Tees chances and his position slowly faded. But, despite that, Kikakee arguably had the best season of his career. He notched a segment title by winning the spring, came in 3rd place overall and had 6 Top 3s. The one thing missing was a tournament win but he still set a career record in earnings with $102. Congrats Kikakee Tees. 

Many pundits thought Jose Maria Oblazabong would be the Danny Willet of the First Timers League. His spectacular rookie season back in 2015 was akin to Willet's Masters title but then nothing happened. 2016 was a bust as Oblazabong went winless, earning barely enough to feed his caddie 3 meals every other week. But he proved them all wrong and resurrected his career with a much needed strong performance in 2017, finishing with 18 Top 10s. He knew how to pick a winner and proved it each segment. He led the league in Total Bonus Points with 415 and during the summer months gained an average of 4.51 bonus points on the field each week. He also collected the second segment title of his career by winning the Winter and is the only player alongside Gophers to win multiple segment championships in the modern era. Congrats Jose Maria Oblazabong.

Gophers has proven himself to be a perpetual force on Fantasy Tour and his 3rd season would be no different. He finished in 5th place overall and has never finished the season lower than 6th in his career. He also finished inside the top 5 in wins for the 3rd season running, stacking up an impressive 3 wins this season (T1). He added onto his impressive league leading Top 10 total with 15 more in 2017, reaching a total of 55 Top 10s in 3 years (just over 18 per year). His Summer Segment stats fell off the pace he set early on and cost him a higher finish. He began the segment in 3rd place before falling to 6th and miraculously getting back into 5th (the final paid position) in the final week. He had no Top 3s during the summer and lost 3.81 points to the field in bonus points each week. He held on just enough by averaging 37.92 points per round to clench a reputable finish. Gophers hasn't repeated his initial success of 2015 when he took home the Jackson Cup but one has the feeling it may not be too long before takes home the hardware again. Congrats Gophers.

Race for the Summer Segment

2 Footer entered the final week of the summer on a mission. He was having the season of his career and nothing would look better on his 2017 resume than a Segment Championship. But there was one thing that stood in his way as Sunday at the TOUR Championship rolled around: closing it all out. He'd never been in this situation before with the segment lead and one week to go. He had a small lead over his closest competitor That's Wet who was prepping himself for a big push towards a potential duo of championships as he was trying to come-from-behind to win both the segment and the season. But 2 Footer would hear none of it.

The Foot put the gas peddle down as far as it would go but hist car never reached cruising speed. His substitutions were crippling him as the week progressed and he was fortunate enough to see his pursuer doing very much the same thing behind him. Sunday remained kind to 2 Footer and as fortune would have it he never had to put on an epic show to snatch the title as his 21st place finish was good enough to become the Summer Segment Champion.

It's 2 Footer's first segment title and he did it in epic fashion - scoring 2,235 points over the course of 13 weeks, more than any other segment this season. He man handled the field by scoring 21.13 regulation points above league average each week and 4.13 bonus points above league average each week as well. He padded his earnings, taking home the $50 segment check, and finished the season with 14 Top 10s, 3 Top 3s and 2 Wins along with rankings of 3rd in Earnings, 6th in Bonus Points and T6 in Winners Picked. A career season - congrats 2 Footer.

TOUR Championship

Who would have ever predicted the Swedish Elf to go back-to-back to end the season? The bookies in Vegas barely gave her lip service with a line of 300-1 but this would only serve as motivation for her to prove the naysayers oh-so wrong.

After an incredible come-from-behind victory at last week's BMW Championship, Tomte was just warming up. She finished round 1 at the TOUR Championship inside 10 points from the leader and never left that range all week. Tomte's astute subs paid dividends as she made cunningly positioned her squad into flanking positions before a full on assault was ordered. As Sunday rolled on she made 3 subs that would prove to be the defining moment - gaining points with each of them - and striding towards the finish line for a 2 points margin of victory.

Tomte wasn't having the season she'd hoped for up until the Playoffs. She'd gone winless throughout the season, lingering in the shadows with an occasional Top 3. But just as in 2015 when she took the Summer Segment by storm, winning the TOUR Championship enroute to the segment title, she rose to the occasion once again and finished with a sudden burst of energy, winning the TOUR Championship for the second time in her career. Over the summer segment she averaged 13.08 bonus points per week, good enough for 3rd best in that category over the segment. She more than decupled her winnings (10 fold) in the final two weeks to finish with $51. She'll ride these two late season wins into the First Timers Cookout on Oct 7 with the air of a champion once again.

To Thousand Eighteen - And Beyond

As another fantasy golf season is put to bed it's time to rest those fatigued backs and carpel tunneled fingers after late night draft sessions of too much stat analysis. The 2017 season ran a total of 35 long weeks from Jan 1 through Sept 24 and the off season has been well earned (for most, ehhem, Marlowe Dubuisson, Putting From The Rough and Four Skins). There were many firsts along the way and many notable performances that set a new high for league standards. The rookie Driving Miss Daisy outperformed all expectations by winning an impressive 2 events and finishing in 9th place overall in what was statistically the most competitive season to date. There always seems to be one team who dominates the Playoffs and while Baby Draw did it in 2016 Tomte turned it on in 2017 to continue the trend.

Some surprising performances were recorded by Tourball, BevGin&Tonic and The Four Skins each team won 2 events each despite neither of them finishing higher than 24th. It just goes to show that anyone can win - but not everyone does. Eight teams were left without a win this season but it is the lowest number recorded in league history as a greater percentage of the league recorded wins than in any other year, just going to show that 2017 was indeed the most competitive year in league history.

Four new major winners joined the club this year as Talkeetna98 (Masters), Tourball (US Open), DaHoffa (Open Championship) and 2 Footer (PGA Championship) captured highly sought after victories at the sports most prestigious events. Even Taylormade got in on the fun, winning his first career tournament when he took down THE Players Championship back in May, a big first win indeed. Other first time winners were GrampaLevs (2 year vet), Niblick 18 (rookie), Kings Deer (rookie) and Putting From The Rough (rookie).

Before the league officially shuts down there's the much anticipated First Timers Invitational Golf Tournament & Cookout where players will be compete on the reality golf course after which payouts will be distributed and merriment will be had. Come join us on Saturday Oct. 7 on Cape Cod for a day of golf, gold, glory, games, grog and good eats (check your email for details).

Enjoy the offseason and see you in 

Hawaii for the 2018 season opener