Workday Charity Open Crowns First as Kings Deer Reigns at Muirfield

Muirfield Village braced itself last week for an onlaught of divots over the coming weeks as the groundscrew meticulously prepared the course for back-to-back tournaments would be held in consecutive weeks. The initial set up would have to play shorter with lower rough and slower greens in order to set up a tougher challenge for the boys the following week. The Workday Charity Open would be the first event and it was a dog fight from the beginning. Scrappy vets clawed their way to the top only to fall back after the cut and get burried at the bottom of the pile. A few new faces through their name in the hat and were in the mix until the very end. But it would be a savvy 4th year veteran who outlasted the lot of them and reigned supreme. 

Kings Deer went big in the draft room prior to the event - loading Rahm, Brooks, JT and Matsuyama into the chamber. His final two picks went to a couple of new kids on the block who've certainly proven their mettle but haven't been around long enough to know for sure. The first going to the young Norwegian Vicktor Hovland and the final going to the rising start of Collin Morikawa. He made the right bet and sat back in ease on Sunday as he watched two of his own do battle in a playoff for the victory. And what a playoff it was as both Thomas and Morikawa burried long birdie bombs on the first playoff hole to set the tone. But despite the action still being undecided in the playoff the fantasy victory was already a lock for Kings and he coasted to his first championship of 2020 in style. It's his first taste of victory since his summer segment championship last year and he's clearly hungry for more. Congrats Kings Deer. 

Top 3 Finish

Sugar Hill tied his highest finish of his rookie campaign on Sunday as he snagged the runner-up position and took home his first paycheck of $10. Sugar hasn't quite burst from the gates in his first year on fantasy tour but he's starting to make strides in the right direction. Sugar has carded just two Top 10s since the restart and this is his 5th overall along with a pair of Top 3s. Twice a runner-up now he's clearly hungry to break through for a win of his own. He's managed to put himself in contention for the Spring Segment and with two tournaments left there's an outside chance he can catch the leader if he goes all out sprint mode. 

Niblick18 has had a spotty year so far but he does have the distinction of being the last winner before the pandemic. He started the season out with a runner-up finsih and since then has carded 2 more Top 3s and 3 Top 10s. He hasn't managed to exchange these finishes into leaderboard currency yet as he's not in position for the season or segment at the moment. It would be no surprise to see Niblick make a run at another title but he'll have to revert to a guerilla war strategy of coming up quick to snatch a win and then disappearing back into the bush. 

Notables

Vegas Vito got his highest finish since the restart with a 4th place position which is his 6th Top 10 overall. At roughly 350 points back of the season lead he's in the hunt for the Jackson Cup but is a low odds bet at the moment. He's been here before and has one Cup to his name so he can lean on the experience to propel him forward. 

Nick Hoffman is making a case for himself as of late and has snagged 3 Top 10s in the past 4 weeks. None of them higher than 5th place but that's still plenty of boost to put him in 6th for the season and 5th for the segment. 

The perennial Top 10 groupie Gophers added one more to his growing list of career Top 10s as he looks to maintain the top spot in the First Timers League for Top 10s again this year. He's now up to 114 over the course of his storied career. His current position of 8th for the season and 13th for the segment will most likely bring to an end his title defense of the Cup. Gophers can't be completely counted out though - mircales are possible on fantasy tour. 

Quickly making a case for rookie of the year honors is new kid on the block DontHasseltheHoff. He's a perfect 5-for-5 in Top 10s since the restart and has 7 total on the season. He's worked his way into 9th for the season after a rough winter start and is currently just 44 points behind segment leader Roll Up for the Spring title. TheHoff is looking to play spoiler and he's got two weeks to make his move before the segment wraps up. 

Segment leader Roll Up has been hanging onto his lead with a firm grip but over the past couple weeks it seems his grip is weakening slightly. An 8th place finish at the Workday is nothing to sneeze at though as finishes like that might be just enough to maintain his lead. 

Bob E. followed up his first Top 3 paycheck at Rocket Mortgage with another solid Top 10 at the Workday. Currently in 21st place for the season though means that his only chance at a decent payout at the end of the season means he'll need to target a couple Ws before the end of the year. 

Rounding out the Top 10 last week was none other than GreenJacket who's still holding down the top spot for the season. He's hoping to sign, seal and deliver the Jackson Cup before the season wraps up but his lead isn't as safe as it used to be. A few more weeks will be a big indicator of whether he'll be sweating it out or pulling the lever on his La-Z-Boy. 

This week is the second iteration of Muirfield Village as the course looks to be a souped up version of last week's arena. The defending champ this week is none other than Vegas Vito as he held off Talkeetna and Gophers for the win. Tiger is back in the action so draft him if you dare.