For additional information, please contact:
Dave Washburn, Communications Director, (270) 252-1607
For Immediate Release
FLW Tour Anglers Prepped for Super Bowl of Bass Fishing
Shreveport, La. (July 25, 2002) – After a highly successful season
culminating in a 1-ounce margin of victory for Sam Newby of Pocola, Okla.,
in the final regular-season event, the Wal-Mart FLW Tour is riding a wave of
excitement heading to Cross Lake near Shreveport, La., Sept. 11-14 for its
$800,000 championship presented by Castrol.
This year’s championship features a setup unlike any bass-fishing
championship in the history of the sport. The 48 pros who qualified based on
their year-end point total will be seeded so fishing fans can keep up with
their favorite anglers in a bracket-style competition similar to the NCAA
basketball playoffs. The No. 1 seed will fish head-to-head against the No.
48 seed; the No. 2 seed will compete against the No. 47 seed and so on.
The 2002 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year, Yamaha pro Jay Yelas of Tyler,
Texas, sits as the No. 1 seed followed by Chevy pro Kevin VanDam of
Kalamazoo, Mich., in the No. 2 spot. Yelas will be paired with No. 48 seed
Harmon Davis of Marlow, Okla., while VanDam will compete against No. 47 seed
Marty Stone of Linden, N.C., in the opening round.
Other notable opening-round matchups include Yamaha’s Dean Rojas (3) of Lake
Havasu City, Ariz., and teammate Takahiro Omori (46) of Emory, Texas;
Kellogg’s pros Clark Wendlandt (4) of Cedar Park, Texas, and Alvin Shaw (45)
of State Road, N.C.; Chevy pros Tom Mann Jr. (14) of Buford, Ga., and Larry
Nixon (35) of Bee Branch, Ark.; perennial contenders Rick Clunn (11) of Ava,
Mo., and Paul Elias (38) of Pachuta, Miss.; and professional-fishing
legacies Dion Hibdon (19) of Stover, Mo., and Keith Williams (30) of Conway,
Ark.
Guido Hibdon, Dion’s father, also qualified for the championship as the 22nd
seed, meaning he could face his son in the final round if both men advance.
Williams’ father, Jerry, also fishes the Wal-Mart FLW Tour but did not
qualify for the championship.
Team Yamaha and Team Fujifilm tied for most representatives. Each has four
pros competing. Kellogg’s is next in line with three followed by Coleman
with two. Teams Castrol, Conseco, Land O’Lakes and Stanley Works each have
one angler competing.
The top 48 pros will fish for a combined two-day weight to eliminate half
the field for the semifinal round on day three. The 24 semifinalists will
continue in head-to-head competition on day three, after which the field
will be cut to 12 finalists.
On day four, the remaining 12 anglers will be reseeded according to their
total weight from the first three days of competition. Anglers seeded No. 1
and No. 2 will compete for the first- and second-place cash awards of
$260,000 and $55,000. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will compete for third- and
fourth-place money of $34,500 and $29,000 and so on. The pro who finishes
last in the no-entry-fee championship will take $2,000.
Co-angler competition will end on day three. A full field of 48 co-anglers
will fish for a combined two-day weight to advance to the 24-slot final
round. Weights are then cleared, with the weight on day three determining
the Co-angler Division champion who will collect $25,000 cash. The co-angler
finishing 48th will receive $500.
Named after Ranger Boats founder, Forrest L. Wood, the Wal-Mart FLW Tour is
run by FLW Outdoors, the world’s leading marketer of competitive fishing
tournaments. Wal-Mart signed on as title sponsor of the FLW Tour in 1996 and
has since expanded its sponsorship of FLW Outdoors’ fishing tournaments to
include the EverStart Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas
Tournament Trail, Wal-Mart RCL Walleye Circuit and Ranger M1. FLW Outdoors
will award anglers up to $22 million in 2002 through 170 tournaments
nationwide.
Sponsors of the 2002 Wal-Mart FLW Tour are Wal-Mart, ALPO Pet Foods,
BFGoodrich Tires, Castrol, Chevy Trucks, Conseco, Eagle Electronics,
Energizer, EverStart Batteries, Evinrude, Faded Glory, Frito-Lay, Fujifilm,
Kellogg’s, Land O’Lakes, Minn Kota, Newell Rubbermaid, Pepsi, Poulan, Ranger
Boats, Shop-Vac, Snickers, Stanley Works, US Bank, Weed Eater and Yamaha
Outboards.
Opening-Round Pairings: Pro Division, Sept. 11-14, Cross Lake, Shreveport,
La.
Name Seed City, State
Jay Yelas 1 Tyler, Texas
Harmon Davis 48 Marlow, Okla.
Kevin VanDam 2 Kalamazoo, Mich.
Marty Stone 47 Linden, N.C.
Dean Rojas 3 Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Takahiro Omori 46 Emory, Texas
Clark Wendlandt 4 Cedar Park, Texas
Alvin Shaw 45 State Road, N.C.
Sam Newby 5 Pocola, Okla.
Scott Martin 44 Clewiston, Fla.
Mike Wurm 6 Hot Springs, Ark.
Randy Blaukat 43 Lamar, Mo.
David Dudley 7 Manteo, N.C.
Gerald Swindle 42 Hayden, Ala.
Bernie Schultz 8 Gainsville, Fla.
Mark Pack 41 Mineola, Texas
Andre Moore 9 Scottsdale, Ariz.
Bill Chapman 40 Salt Rock, W.V.
Greg Hackney 10 Oak Ridge, La.
Kim Stricker 39 Howell, Mich.
Rick Clunn 11 Ava, Mo.
Paul Elias 38 Pachuta, Miss.
Pat Fisher 12 Stone Mountain, Ga.
Stanley Mitchell 37 Fitzgerald, Ga.
Alton Jones 13 Waco, Texas
Craig Powers 36 Rockwood, Tenn.
Tom Mann Jr. 14 Buford, Ga.
Larry Nixon 35 Bee Branch, Ark.
Wesley Strader 15 Spring City, Tenn.
Brent Chapman 34 Shawnee, Kan.
Aaron Martens 16 Castaic, Calif.
Rob Kilby 33 Hot Springs, Ark.
Gary Klein 17 Weatherford, Texas
Dale Teaney 32 Williamsburg, Ohio
Chris Baumgardner 18 Gastonia, N.C.
Roger Crafton 31 Boca Grande, Fla.
Dion Hibdon 19 Stover, Mo.
Keith Williams 30 Conway, Ark.
Joel Richardson 20 Kernersville, N.C.
Wes Thomas 29 Hanover, Ind.
Tommy Biffle 21 Wagoner, Okla.
Tracy Adams 28 Wilkesboro, N.C.
Guido Hibdon 22 Gravois Mills, Mo.
Chuck Economou 27 Redington Shores, Fla.
Kevin Vida 23 Clare, Mich.
Jim Tutt 26 Longview, Texas
John Sappington 24 Wyandotte, Okla.
David Fritts 25 Lexington, N.C.