Stop No. 1 on the 2008 Wal-Mart FLW Tour saw the same sponsored teams as in 2007 reprising their roles as victors in the season opener – teams Duracell and PTSI. Putting a quick end to that rerun cycle after stop No. 2, however, were two new teams from the sponsor roster: Teams Prilosec and Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee proved they were ready for prime time at Lewis Smith Lake.
Though Prilosec placed third at the season opener, it trailed Duracell by only one point in Division I of sponsor-team competition. Prilosec’s commanding win at Lewis Smith earlier this month turned the tables, giving it not only an event win but also top billing in the overall standings, relegating Duracell to the No. 3 slot. After a rough start to the season, Dunkin’ Donuts’ recent win was certainly welcome, but didn’t provide as much lift in the overall Division II standings, where it climbed one place to sixth.
For the FLW Tour, northern Alabama’s Lewis Smith Lake was a new destination – a suitable location, then, for two new sponsor teams to have made their marks. The nearly 20 teams competing in this unofficial competition will soon visit familiar water as the tour revisits North Carolina’s Lake Norman – at roughly the same time of year as in 2007 – for stop No. 3. With only two events down in 2008 – and more than half of the pros currently residing in the top 10 of the FLW Tour points standings wearing sponsor-team colors – it is clear that both new and more familiar sponsor teams have what it takes to win. The question remaining: Who will be next to visit the winner’s circle?
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 this week, April 24-27, at the third stop of 2008: Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C.
Look for results from Norman by early May. Results from the April 3-6 Lewis Smith event, as well as an explanation of team scoring, are detailed below:
Division I
Team Prilosec cooled the competition at Smith Lake, turning in a score of 170.33 points for its first win – a full dozen ahead of runner-up Team Berkley. The strength of that performance also put them atop the Division I seasonal standings ahead of Berkley and Duracell, sitting in second and third places, respectively. Prilosec will enjoy nearly a 15-point buffer heading into the middle of the season.
Prilosec pro Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., improved upon his season-opening 11th-place finish with an outstanding third-place showing at Smith Lake to lead his team, as well as the entire pro field of the FLW Tour to date, in points. Roseville, California’s Michael Bennett amazed at Smith Lake with his first tour-level win, but it was not enough to galvanize his Duracell team into back-to-back wins. Berkley’s success was due largely to team member Glenn Browne‘s impressive ninth-place finish.
Division II
Competition at Lewis Smith Lake was tighter in Division II, where Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee parlayed a 168-point performance into its first win on record, edging out runner-up and longtime sponsor team Wal-Mart by only two points. Both top-finishing teams relied on steady execution from their anglers, while third-place Team Snickers, only another six points behind with 160, had a go-to guy to thank – Greg Pugh of Cullman, Ala., who satisfied with a stellar fifth-place finish.
With its win, Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee has begun the long climb up the Division II leaderboard, where it currently sits in sixth place, while Wal-Mart, Snickers and Team M&M’s hold down the top three spots, respectively. Though the 100 points and change that currently separate Dunkin’ from the top slot may seem too wide a chasm to cross, two-thirds of the season is still on the horizon, and massive point swings are closer to rule than exception in Division II, where there are fewer anglers to stabilize teams’ point averages from event to event.
Explanation of team scoring
Points in the 2008 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 most recent FLW Tour event at Lewis Smith Lake near Jasper, Ala., and results from that event have been tallied:
Division I – Lewis Smith Lake (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Prilosec – 170.33
2. Berkley – 158.33
3. Duracell – 142.67
4. Kellogg’s – 138.60
5. Pringles – 125.00
6. Coppertone – 123.67
7. Castrol – 122.75
8. National Guard – 122.29
9. Chevy – 117.67
10. BP – 116.25
11. Land O’Lakes – 62.33
Division II – Lewis Smith Lake (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee – 168.00
2. Wal-Mart – 166.00
3. Snickers – 160.00
4. Folgers – 126.00
5. M&M’s – 91.00
6. PTSI – 49.00
7. IAMS – 16.00
8. Abu Garcia – 0.00
Overall standings
Current overall standings for sponsor teams competing on the 2008 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Prilosec – 300.00
2. Berkley – 285.67
3. Duracell – 273.33
4. Kellogg’s – 255.80
5. Pringles – 255.33
6. Coppertone – 249.00
7. Castrol – 215.75
8. National Guard – 211.43
9. BP – 210.00
10. Chevy – 196.00
11. Land O’Lakes – 144.33
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Wal-Mart – 326.00
2. Snickers – 289.50
3. M&M’s – 263.50
4. Folgers – 260.50
5. PTSI – 247.00
6. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee – 223.00
7. Iams – 122.00
8. Abu Garcia – 5.00
Other notable performances at Smith Lake among pro anglers on sponsored teams included a top-shelf fourth-place finish for Chevy‘s Luke Clausen; another top-10 finish for veteran Darrel Robertson, who netted sixth place for Castrol; Brent Ehrler, who again put up good numbers for National Guard with a 12th-place finish; Anthony Gagliardi, who reeled in a strong 19th-place finish for Folgers; Coppertone‘s Wesley Strader, who earned a solid 21st-place notch; and Tracy Adams‘ respectable 22nd-place showing for BP.