Points Championship Up for Grabs Heading into Sturgeon Bay

As the 2020 Bass Pro Tour season heads into its final stop of the year, much attention will be paid to four anglers in particular in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Jordan Lee, Fletcher Shryock, Jacob Wheeler and Ott DeFoe will enter Stage Five as the top four anglers in the points standings.

First-place Jordan Lee and fourth-place Ott DeFoe are only separated by 12 points, meaning there’s little room for error if any of those four want to repeat what Edwin Evers did last season.

Lee Looking to Stay Hot

Lee enters the final event of 2020 riding a hot streak. He’s the most recent champion on the Bass Pro Tour thanks to his win on the Kissimmee Chain during Heavy Hitters last month.

The Alabama pro has three Top-10 finishes this season and has yet to miss a Knockout Round. He has tallied more than $234,000 in winnings in 2020 and is looking to add another hefty check on top of that.

This year has been one Lee won’t forget for awhile, but 2020 is no outlier. The Carhartt pro won the first-ever Bass Pro Tour event on the Kissimmee Chain back in 2019 on his way to finishing with the seventh-most points that season. At this point, the Lee is used to being the one at the top and being chased, and Sturgeon Bay won’t be anything he hasn’t seen before.

Lee has some experience in northern Wisconsin, grabbing a sixth-place finish at a B.A.S.S. event there in 2015. Perhaps his experience paired with his recent string of performances can carry Lee to his first AOY crown.

Shryock Close Behind

Shryock is the only angler in the top four in the points standings that has yet to win a Bass Pro Tour event this season. Even without a trophy to his credit, the Ohio native has been able to stay in the race in large part because of his consistency.

The Abu Garcia pro hasn’t missed a Knockout Round this year and notched a Top-10 finish during Stage Two on Lake Okeechobee.

Shryock’s past success in Wisconsin has come on the west side of the state on the Upper Mississippi River hunting for largemouth. The deeper waters of Sturgeon Bay and the smallmouth that live there are something that have eluded Shryock in the past.

The Alabama pro is only seven points behind Lee going into Stage Five, meaning if Shryock can finish eight places ahead of Lee, he could be the one heading home with a Points Championship.

White-Hot Wheeler in Striking Distance

If we’ve learned anything over the past few months, it’s that you should never count out Jacob Wheeler on any body of water located anywhere in the country. The Tennessee pro has been on a tear in 2020, winning Stage One of the 2020 Bass Pro Tour, an FLW Toyota Series Central Division event, and an FLW Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament in just five months time.

Nine points is the difference between Wheeler and leader Lee. He’s never had a Top-10 finish on Sturgeon Bay, but one thing is for sure: If there are fish to be caught, Wheeler is going to find them.

DeFoe Quietly in Position to Pounce

DeFoe enters the final stage of the year in fourth place in the points standings and just 12 points behind Lee. DeFoe won Stage Three of the 2020 Bass Pro Tour from Lake Fork and Lake Athens in Emory, Texas back in March.

DeFoe has made two Championship Rounds in 2020 and has missed just one Knockout Round.

The Tennessee native finished seventh on Sturgeon Bay during a 2015 B.A.S.S. event. He also collected a fifth-place finish in Green Bay in 2012. DeFoe is no stranger to Wisconsin smallmouth, and he will need a strong week if he wants to come away with his first Points Championship.

Other Anglers in the Hunt

There are still a few other anglers with a mathematical chance to catch Lee, most of which were in the same position last year with Edwin Evers. Jeff Sprague, Michael Neal and Dustin Connell all found themselves inside the Top 10 in 2019 and they have a chance to do it again in 2020.

Sprague just missed out on the Points Championship in 2019, finishing second to Evers. However, Sprague was able to make up for it later in the year with a 2020 Challenge Cup win in Mountain Home, Arkansas. He enters Stage Five in sixth place and 27 points behind Lee.

Neal is right where he found himself at the end of last season—in fifth place. Neal needs 24 more points than Lee to take the top spot from him.

As for Connell, he sits in seventh. Connell ended 2019 in eighth place and goes into Stage Five 31 points behind first-place Lee.