With no big names in the field fortune favors teh bold at Corales Puntacana in the Dominican Republic. The course in Punta Cana is right on the coast and is extremely exposed to the ocean gusts so ball control is a premium. Some dark horse picks paid off for finishers inside the Top 10 as only 2 teams had winner Joel Dahmen (Kikakee and Greensboro) and 3 teams inside the Top 10 had second place finisher Sam Ryder (Bushwood, GreenJacket, ByeBye).
Four teams snagged their 6th Top 10 of the season (Bmerk, Smooth Greens, GreenJacket & Grippin&Rippin) but only one of them remains outside of the overall Top 10. It's not something he's proud of but GreenJacket has some work to do in order to get back into a respectable standing before the season gets too far along (currently 19th).
ByeBye and Kikakee not only bookended the Top 10 at Corales but also collected their 3rd Top 10s on the season. For ByeBye it's her 3rd in 4 weeks which has brought much fantasy media attention to the 2nd year pro.
Driving Mrs. Daisy has been having an off-year by her own standards and while she collected her 4th Top of the season she's languishing in 27th place overall and 25th for the spring. Her race is far from over but a big push will need to come forth before long.
Bushwood Slicer carded his best finish to date with a lone 4th place post. The rookie came in highly touted but something seems to be holding him back from breaking through for a Top 3 finish. He'll continue to work with his swing coach as he fine tunes his fantasy game.
Oh Geez seems to have brushed off his early season malaise as he's now carded 3 Top 10s in 4 weeks and has been surging in the rankings over that time - moving up 3 spots overall and is holding strong in the segment Top 10 at T9. It's evident he's been putting in the extra hours at the range and it's starting to pay dividends.
It's no surprise to see the likes of Kings Deer holding strong in 1st place after 3 weeks of segment play as he's a seasoned vet with 2 segment championships already. The surprising face is the 2nd year veteran HollySandersOldFace. OldFace had a lackluster rookie season and never really contended for much. He collected just 4 Top 10s and a lone Top 3. Perhaps he's pulling a reverse David Duval? Time will tell if he can keep pace in the segment. At just 44 points back from the leader the pit crew is telling him to rev up the RPMs.
One name on this list is starting to get plenty of media attention as that special weekend in April comes into view. Freeside Links has held the prestigious honor of being the reigning Masters champion now in the 4th year said reign. He picked up his second career green jacket in 2018 and then defended his title in 2019 for his 3rd green jacket and then with the Covid postponement last year he's now in the 4th year of his title. Would it even be possible for Freeside to continue his reign? Highly unlikley but he'll have the fans on his side as he strolls down Magnolia Lane.
“Forget your [fantasy] opponents; always play against par.”
-Sam Snead
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