Sponsored anglers pound Potomac, eye Detroit finale
Bounty on top again in Division I. Spiderwire wraps up first Division II win
The Potomac River stop of the 2007 Wal-Mart FLW Tour could be viewed as Exhibit A for evidence of major sponsorship bolstering a professional bass angler; or it could be that FLW Outdoors’ supporting companies just know how to pick `em. Either way, sponsored pros did their colors proud at stop No. 5 on the tour, held last month near the nation’s capital.
Six of the top 10 finalists at the Potomac were members of sponsored teams, many more finished among the top 25, and countless team members finished in the money when the tournament wrapped up June 17 in Washington, D.C.
There is only one event left to go in this unofficial competition – the FLW Tour stop beginning this week on the Detroit River in Detroit – so the stakes were high at the Potomac in terms of teams jockeying for position atop the overall standings in their respective divisions. The most consistent points-getters will be crowned 2007 sponsor-team champions of either Division I or Division II, and the scoring will conclude by week’s end, marking the end of the tour’s regular season.
Team Bounty leveraged a Potomac win to loosen Team Duracell’s grip on the top slot in Division I. After following in Duracell’s footsteps for half the season, Bounty now leads the Division I standings and will take a 19-point lead into the final event of the regular season. Team Suave was tied for second in the Division II standings going into the Potomac contest and made a strong push to close the gap on No. 1 Team Tylenol Rapid Release. Only 24 points now separates the two teams. One things is certain: The conclusion to this year’s sponsor-team competition will be an exciting one.
Bounty got reacquainted with the Division I winner’s circle at the Potomac, picking up its second event win of the season, while Team Spiderwire dominated Division II to grab its first-ever win in sponsor-team competition.
Like in years past, sponsor teams are divided into two divisions: Division I, comprising teams of three or more professional anglers, and Division II, comprising teams of fewer than three pros. Keep tabs on your favorite teams’ progress as they compete in the final event of the regular season July 12-15 at stop No. 6 of the 2007 season: the Detroit River. If you’re not in Detroit to see the bass-fishing action unfold in person, you can keep an eye on the anglers via FLWOutdoors.com’s live weigh-in application, FLW Live.
Look for results from the Detroit River, as well as a season wrap-up, later this month. Results from the Potomac River, as well as an explanation of team scoring, are detailed below:
Division I
Bounty wiped the floor with Division I competitors at the Potomac, grabbing the win a commanding 28 points plus some change ahead of runner-up Team A&W. Bounty’s performance was good enough to climb to the top of the leaderboard in the overall standings as well, unseating Duracell, which had been the top Division I dog for two-thirds of the entire season.
Ken Wick of Star, Idaho, brought the heat for Bounty with an outstanding fourth-place finish. Also contributing significant points to the team total was Jacob Powroznik of Prince George, Va., who earned an impressive 20th-place finish.
Division II
Coming out of relative obscurity in Division II, Spiderwire snagged its first win, preventing Tylenol Rapid Release from registering its second consecutive win on the 2007 tour by a 10-point margin.
Spiderwire’s Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., fished his best tournament of the season with an incredible third-place finish. Gabe Bolivar of Ramona, Calif., gave Lane a run for the money, however, scoring big points for Tylenol by landing in 13th place at the Potomac.
Explanation of team scoring
Points in the 2007 sponsor-team race will be earned during the FLW Tour’s six qualifying events and monitored throughout the season. Standings are based on the average number of points earned by a team’s anglers as assigned in the tour’s Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year competition.
Sponsor teams competed in the FLW Tour’s Wal-Mart Open at Beaver Lake near Rogers, Ark., and results from that event have been tallied:
Division I – Potomac River (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Bounty – 171.67
2. A&W – 143.00
3. Chevy – 134.40
4. BP – 127.25
5. Kellogg’s – 109.00
6. Castrol – 108.40
7. BFGoodrich Tires – 104.33
8. Duracell – 104.00
9. Land O’Lakes – 98.67
10. Folgers – 98.33
11. Fujifilm – 96.33
12. Gain – 83.67
13. National Guard – 80.83
Division II – Potomac River (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Spiderwire – 198.00
2. Tylenol Rapid Release – 188.00
3. Suave – 175.00
4. Lawry’s – 173.00
5. Wal-Mart – 151.00
6. Snickers – 150.00
7. Berkley – 149.50
8. Slim Jim – 143.00
9. Pepcid – 119.00
10. Banana Boat – 118.00
11. Imodium – 116.00
12. M&M’s – 112.00
13. PTSI – 101.00
14. Hamburger Helper – 92.00
15. Pedigree – 68.50
16. Wet Ones – 48.00
17. Totino’s – 41.00
18. Abu Garcia – 17.00
19. Tylenol Sinus – 15.00
Overall standings
Current overall standings for sponsor teams competing on the 2007 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Bounty – 730.33
2. Duracell – 711.00
3. Castrol – 647.60
4. BP – 631.25
5. Kellogg’s – 590.80
6. Folgers – 576.00
7. Chevy – 571.00
8. BFGoodrich Tires – 568.33
9. Gain – 565.34
10. Land O’Lakes – 512.00
11. National Guard – 486.16
12. Fujifilm – 450.84
13. A&W – 434.33
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Tylenol Rapid Release – 816.00
2. Suave – 792.00
3. PTSI – 718.00
4. Imodium – 690.00
5. Berkley – 651.50
6. Banana Boat – 647.00
7. Wal-Mart – 635.00
8. Slim Jim – 624.00
9. Snickers – 621.50
10. Totino’s – 601.00
11. M&M’s – 575.50
12. Lawry’s – 570.00
13. Spiderwire – 529.00
14. Tylenol Sinus – 524.00
15. Pedigree – 491.00
16. Pepcid – 445.00
17. Hamburger Helper – 387.00
18. Wet Ones – 293.00
19. Abu Garcia – 184.00
Other notable performances at the Potomac River among anglers on sponsored teams not already highlighted in this article include Potomac winner Chris Baumgardner, who outfished all comers with a perfect performance for Team Snickers; Team Castrol‘s deadly David Dudley, who earned bragging rights as the runner-up, and teammate Darrel Robertson, who contributed greatly with a 21st-place finish; A&W pro Shad Schenck drinking up a delicious seventh-place finish; Team BP‘s trifecta of top-notch anglers in Ray Scheide, Jim Moynagh and Shinichi Fukae, who placed ninth, 11th and 18th, respectively; George Jeane Jr., who brought his A game for Team Berkley with a 12th-place finish; Team Chevy‘s one-two punch of Jimmy Houston and Larry Nixon, nailing down 14th and 23rd place, respectively; and Jim Tutt‘s top finish for Team Kellogg’s with a respectable 24th-place effort.