Grippin&Rippin Is A Masters Champion

 

First Timer's League Weekly Recap

Grippin&Rippin is a Masters Champion Second year veteran Grippin&Rippin didn't have to wait too long get the coveted major championship and he did it in a big way at Augusta. And he did exactly what Xander could not as he tracked down the leader on Sunday on the back of a massive round for John Rahm. Grippin only made one sub the whole week and captained his squad to near perfection in the season's most pressure packed event to date. Apart from the fantasy green jacket Grippin takes home a cool $75 and now leads the league in earnings with $100.    Following the round, Jim Nantz brough Grippin&Rippin to tears in Butler Cabin as he hit him hard with an emotional line of questioning. "This is just more than I ever dreamed of. The win earlier this season was important but this one is a dream come true - it'll take some time to sink in."

TOP 10 FINISH

An epic Masters it almost was. While Hideki is more than a worthy addition to the 2022 champion's dinner many were hoping for some late fireworks from Xander but the fuse was just too wet to light, literally.    Bmerk very nearly closed the gap to get a rare rookie major championship but, like Xander, came up just 3 points shy. Oh Geez rounded out the Top 3 with another stellar performance as he slowly climbs the segment leaderboard.    One-Iron finally gets back into the Top 10 after a lone appearance here in the 1st week of the season. It's been a tough season on the rookie but a Top 10 at the Masters is a good way to get some momentum. Grandpa Levs captured his 2nd career Top 10 at the Masters and his 5th  in 2021. He's fallen off the season and segment pace but he's still got time to turn it around.    Gophers continues his dominance at this sacred event and snagged his 4th career Top 10 at the Masters Tournament. He closed the gap between him and overall first, now inside 200 points, and has designs on higher ground. ByeBye Birdie continues her solid play as she carded her 3rd Top 10 of the spring segment but, currently in 14th, she'll need to turn it up to 11  if she wants to contend for the segment championship.    Talkeetna98 is near perfect at the Masters and in 6 career apperances has chalked up 5 Top 10s with this 8th place finish. There's just something about Amen Corner that fits his eye but he'll have to wait another year for a green jacket of his own. Kikakee Tees - solo 9th - is giving signs of new life as the spring heats up but his standing is still a sore point for the 7th year veteran. His win at Corales a couple weeks ago was a big momentum builder and, along with this Top 10 at his favorite event, he should continue his surge.   Vegas Vito collected just his second career Top 10 at Augusta in 6 career apperances with a T10 last week. More important though is his pursuit of both segment and season titles as he's in 7th and 6th place, respectively. 617 to 616 got his 5th Top 10 of the season with a T10 at Augusta and moved up the season leaderboard one spot into 8th. In his rookie campaign he's putting together a decent case for rookie of the year but would need a win or two to be squarely in the convo.

Everyone was moving and shaking inside the Top 10 for the spring segment as every single position changed hands. Reed's takes over control of the ship from Kings while Grippin&Rippin made the biggest move up the board 7 spots. Oh Geez makes it into the Top 10 with a big Top 3 finish and now stands in 8th. Everyone else either held on or eeked up a single spot. There's 8 weeks left in the spring segment so plenty more time for almost anything to happen.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: Some teams have a knack for keeping the top position within striking distance. Over the course of 14 weeks these are the top 10 teams who have the closest average proximity to first when finishing inside the top 10.

Week 15: RBC Heritage While it's not quite the tradition unlike any other it's certainly a tradition unlike most. The RBC Heritage - also known as Plaid Nation - has a jacket all of it's own. Graeme McDowell won this event back in 2014 and he'll probably never forget the ceremonial drive to kick off the tournament's festivities. DaHoffa will try to defend his title from 2019 for his first paycheck of 2021.

"A great [fantasy draft pick] is when you pull it off. A smart [fantasy draft pick] is when you don’t have the guts to try it.” — Phil Mickelson