The Winter Segment train rolled
into the station last week as the first segment of 2020 came to a close on
Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Englishman Tyrrel Hatton persevered
for the victory and avoided much of the water that drowned his closest
pursuers. The Bay Hill golf course reared its head and showed its teeth as red
numbers were few and far between, sending much of the field's big names home
for the weekend. Fantasy teams were left decimated with many missing multiple
starters. Fortunes ebbed and flowed in such a raucous environment as teams
hurtled up and down the leaderboard, everyone settling into their seat as the
Sunday evening dinner bell began to ring.
Long before Sunday supper was served in the dining car however, GreenJacket had already read the writing on the wall. The table had been set and he knew the menu. He'd battled all segment long and held onto his first-class ticket while others were sent back to steerage. Nipping at the heels of segment leader Nick Hoffman throughout February he finally wore him down, overtaking him with a few weeks to go.
In the segment's final tournament, Friday's cut rippled through the league and left many fantasy managers uncertain of where the train would take them and if they'd even get dinner at all. Most notable among these were GreenJacket's closest competitors - Papa Pilgrim and Nick Hoffman - who suffered mass casualties on Friday and got off the train several stops too early. His competition in the rearview, GreenJacket was free to enjoy the ride and he put on the afterburners in pursuit of the tournament title, coming up just short in the end, but securing his spot at the dinner table and his breakthrough moment of 2020 in style. An upstart from Nowheresville Michigan, GreenJacket has now risen to the rank of Segment Champion in the First Timers League and secured his place in fantasy golf history. Listen to the bell GreenJacket, it tolls for thee.
Arnold Palmer Invitational
While the pros showed up in number last week to pay tribute to the King - Arnold Palmer - and win some cash it was an unsung veteran of the First Timers League that took the ultimate glory at Bay Hill and snagged his first title of 2020. Fourth year veteran Niblick 18, suffering the worst winless drought of his career, broke free from his chains on Sunday won his first tournament since August 2018.
It was a prime moment for Niblick18 as the only other person who would have loved this victory more was Arnold himself. Currently in 22nd place for the season he's had a rough start to the year and needed something to get him going as the Spring Segment dawned. He found his swing though at Bay Hill and scavenged for under par rounds at a time when others were breaking 80. His roster was strong and all but one of them finished in red numbers which gave him the victory by nearly 30 points. This is Niblick's 3rd Top 10 and second Top 3 of 2020 and hopefully he's just getting started. Congrats Niblick18.
Segment Notables
It has clearly been demonstrated that missing a cut can be lethal. Perhaps no one has taken this to heart more than Kikakee Tees, GreenJacket and Kings Deer. Each missed a starter in just 1 week (totaling two rounds) which put them ahead of the field and gaining points while others fall off the pace. Kikakee Tees slowly moved up the leaderboard from 6th in week 5 to 3rd at segment's end. Still looking for his first win though Kikakee has come close twice already with 2 second place finishes. His 40% Top 10 finish rate though is holding him in fine form through 10 weeks.
Along with having only 1 starter position miss the cut over the winter, Kings Deer managed 5 Top 10s over 10 weeks and somehow ended the segment in 5th place WITHOUT any Top 3s! He outperformed his career Top 10 rate by 6.5% and he'll look to keep that pace over the next two segments.
Nick Hoffman very nearly made his own case for rookie of the segment as he held the winter lead for nearly half the segment and took down 6 of 10 Top 10s (second best). He faltered down the homestretch though - carding 0 Top 10s in the segment's final three weeks. He did have two Top 3s however which was tied for 3rd best in the winter. Hoffman now sits in 10th after an abrupt fall down the leaderboard with several missed cuts in the final week.
Bob E. has been on a bit of a streak as of late and has snagged 3 Top 10s and 1 Top 3 in the last 4 weeks. He's had a slow start and unfortunately finds himself in 24 place but as we have seen fortunes can change in an instant. Bob E. has 5 Top 10s overall but his other 5 tournaments over the spring were bottom of the barrel kind of affairs. He'll need to pick up the average finishing position if he wants to make a charge for the Top 10 and a payday.
The title of female winter segment rookie goes to newcomer ByeBye Birdie as she took down 4 Top 10s, 1 Top 3 and 1 Win in her maiden voyage. Her strong start has merited her a 7th place position at winter's end and she'll look to wrangle several more big finishes as the weather warms. In the middle of the pack for earnings so far, she's got her eye on several high paying events this spring.
Grandpa Levs implemented a scorched earth policy over the final month as he clawed his way from 16th in week 5 to inside the top 10 by segment's end. He's currently in 9th overall and is stealthily making moves for higher ground. His victory in week 9 at the Honda Classic during a tough week scoring-wise was well earned and put him on the earnings board.
Reed's Rule Book has staged a late segment surge and finds himself in 13th place overall. It's a staging area for those who seek higher ground and with 2 segments to go he'll need to start chipping away at the gap. The Rule Book has managed 3 Top 10s over the past 4 weeks which is a good trend for the savvy rookie as he had a rocky start to the year. Look for Reed's to write new rules in the spring segment.
Of the 11 winners in the winter segment (1 tournament was shared) a remarkably high number came from teams finishing the segment outside the top 10. While only a couple of teams won while they maintained a position inside the top 10 the rest were solidly residing in the bottom 20. It's also notable that a new team won each week and there were no repeat winners. This trend is telling in that each week is anybody's game. And with over $700 still to be handed out for individual tournaments there's plenty of opportunity to pad your fantasy bank account.
Spring Segment Preview
This is where the rubber meets the road. The weather is warming up and weekend warriors are starting to dust off their clubs that have been sitting in the garage for 4 months. Over the next 13 weeks we'll see a host of big name tournaments - The PLAYERS, PGA Championship, The Memorial, and of course The Masters.
This week is The PLAYERS Championship at the legendary TPC Sawgrass and it's infamous 17th island green. Tourball is the defending champ this week and he'll be going for the first successful defense of 2020. The payday is worth $30 with a $5 bump for second place. There's no time like the present so forget about winter - it's time for some spring golf.
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