Pringles earns first win. Wal-Mart gets second straight
Prilosec back on top of Division I. Wal-Mart widens Division II lead
Stop No. 5 on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour found a new sponsor team entering the winner’s circle and another setting up camp there. Team Pringles picked up its first event win of the year at Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes in June, while Team Wal-Mart made it two in a row at the famed fishery.
By all pretournament accounts, the Loudoun-Tellico battle was to be dominated by the many fine fishermen who hail from east Tennessee – and many of them did quite well. But it was the steady, paycheck-range fishing across the board from all of Pringles’ pros that translated into a win for the Division I team. And talk about consistency: Wal-Mart went ahead and added another check to the win column, widening its lead in Division II.
Only a month after scaling to the top of the Division I heap, a Loudoun-Tellico stumble for Team Berkley opened the door for event runner-up Team Prilosec to regain its enviable position at the top of the standings – but a mere eight points separate them. Wal-Mart, however, is now enjoying an 85-point lead over No. 2 Team Folgers, which also placed second at Loudoun-Tellico, as the teams head into the final event of the regular season in this unofficial sponsor-team competition.
Next week the FLW Tour visits the Detroit River in Michigan for the last of six regular-season events in 2008: the Chevy Open. With boosted payouts and Forrest Wood Cup qualifications hanging in the balance, the event – with access to lakes St. Clair and Erie from the river – is sure to be a slugfest. It will also conclude unofficial competition among sponsor teams for 2008, so be sure to check back in mid-July for final results.
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 next week, July 10-13, at the sixth stop of 2008: the Detroit River at Detroit.
Results from the June 19-22 Loudoun-Tellico event, as well as an explanation of team scoring, are detailed below:
Division I
Pringles didn’t offer up a bass-fishing star in Tennessee; better than that, it offered all-star team angling. Pros Jimmy Millsaps of Canton, Ga., and Vic Vatalaro of Kent, Ohio, cleared the $10,000 paycheck hurdle by finishing among the top 50, while the rest held their own and paved the way for the team’s first win.
That consistency has kept Pringles above the midline in the Division I standings throughout the year, and the team remains solidly at the No. 3 slot heading into the last event of the year. Back on top in the division, Prilosec’s return to form was led by part of the east Tennessee contingent – Craig Powers of Rockwood, who expertly fished his way into sixth place. If not for Ocala, Florida’s Glenn Browne, who placed 23rd, Berkley may have fallen even further in the standings. And kudos to Team Land O’Lakes, which finished the event only seven points out from the win, ultimately placing third at Loudoun-Tellico.
Though anything is possible in the world of professional fishing, it appears the race for the Division I crown will boil down to a photo finish in the Motor City with Berkley hot on the heels of Prilosec.
Division II
Wal-Mart fought off a hard-charging Team Folgers to pick up its second straight event win at Loudoun-Tellico by only a couple of points.
Hot Springs, Ark., pro George Cochran is still strongly representing Wal-Mart and currently sits at No. 8 in the FLW Tour’s overall points standings. Heading up Folgers’ strong finish was 2007 Forrest Wood Cup winner Scott Suggs of Bryant, Ark., who turned in an impressive 13th-place finish at Loudoun-Tellico.
Folgers took over the No. 2 slot in Division II standings, but faces an uphill climb to overtake Wal-Mart at the top by season’s end.
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 Fort Loudoun-Tellico lakes in Knoxville, Tenn., and results from that event have been tallied:
Division I – Loudoun-Tellico (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Pringles – 149.00
2. Prilosec – 146.33
3. Land O’Lakes – 141.67
4. National Guard – 138.57
5. Chevy – 126.83
6. Castrol – 124.50
7. Kellogg’s – 114.40
8. Coppertone – 111.33
9. BP – 105.25
10. Berkley – 103.67
11. Duracell – 67.67
Division II – Loudoun-Tellico (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Wal-Mart – 170.00
2. Folgers – 167.50
3. Iams – 107.00
4. PTSI – 89.00
5. Snickers – 75.00
6. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee – 58.00
7. M&M’s – 55.50
8. Abu Garcia – 55.00
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 – 710.33
2. Berkley – 702.67
3. Pringles – 636.33
4. Castrol – 602.75
5. Kellogg’s – 594.40
6. National Guard – 589.14
7. BP – 576.00
8. Chevy – 551.50
9. Duracell – 541.67
10. Coppertone – 541.33
11. Land O’Lakes – 440.67
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Wal-Mart – 819.00
2. Folgers – 733.50
3. Snickers – 687.00
4. PTSI – 671.00
5. M&M’s – 473.00
6. Iams – 438.00
7. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee – 384.00
8. Abu Garcia – 135.00
Other notable performances at Loudoun-Tellico among pro anglers on sponsored teams not already highlighted: David Dudley of Team Castrol outfished all, earning yet another FLW win; Team National Guard was on fire with amazing finishes from Scott Martin (2nd), Ramie Colson Jr. (10th) and Brent Ehrler (15th); Jim Moynagh was BP‘s top point-getter, earning a stellar 12th-place finish; Team Chevy was well represented with great 14th- and 21st-place finishes from David Fritts and Larry Nixon, respectively; and Greg Bohannan contributed a nice 25th-place finish to Team Kellogg’s.