Kellogg’s, Skippy reign over sponsor teams for second-straight championship titles
Late-season surge from Kellogg’s unseats BFGoodrich Tires; Skippy caps strong season to capture crown
When the 2005 Wal-Mart FLW Tour’s regular season drew to a close in June on the Potomac River, the leaderboard indicated an instant replay of last year’s sponsor-team finale, with Kellogg’s and Skippy standing proudly atop their respective divisions. But a much more interesting story lay behind the numbers.
In order for Team Kellogg’s to win Division I and reprise its 2004 finish, only one scenario could play out in the waning moments of the season: Its anglers needed to exert a Herculean effort while Team BFGoodrich Tires had to go flat. For Team Skippy, it was a question of maintaining the slim lead it had gained over Division II rival Team Pedigree partway through the season. And that’s exactly what happened.
The FLW Tour’s 17 sponsor teams, having competed against one another unofficially, were divided into two divisions: Division I, comprising teams of three or more professional anglers, and Division II, comprising teams of fewer than three pros.
Results from the June 22-25 Potomac River event in Maryland, as well as an explanation of team scoring, are detailed below.
Division I
Kellogg’s actually set the stage for a Division I takeover at Wheeler Lake, where it closed the gap separating it from BFGoodrich Tires by nearly 24 points. But Team BFGoodrich Tires, which had had a stranglehold on the top slot of the standings throughout the entire season, still seemingly had a lock on winning the division, going into the final event of the regular season with a commanding 98-point lead.
Kellogg’s used the Potomac as a launching pad to the top, however, by rallying to earn one of the highest Division I scores of the season there: 172.40. And as every yin must have its yang, Team BFGoodrich Tires balanced the cosmos by registering an uncharacteristically low 74.67 points. In the end, Kellogg’s squeaked past its rival by a scant one-third of a point to claim its second sponsor-team crown in as many seasons.
Every member of the Kellogg’s cavalry was riding high at the Potomac, but leading the charge were pros Clark Wendlandt, a past two-time Angler of the Year; Sam Newby, a past Forrest Wood Open champion; and Dave Lefebre, who ended the season ranked fifth among all tour anglers. After a highly disappointing season, at least by his own standards, Wendlandt pleased his legions of fans by ending the season on a high note to the tune of second place. Newby also brought his A-game to the Potomac, earning his first tour-level top-10 finish (sixth) since his stellar 2002 season. Lefebre secured a berth into his third-straight FLW Tour Championship by finishing 17th on the historic river.
Division II
With only a 10-point cushion going into the Potomac, Team Skippy successfully deflected Team Pedigree’s last shot at the crown. After occupying the runner-up slot in the standings for the first two events of the season, Skippy pulled ahead of Pedigree at the Ouachita River and never looked back. Pro Art Berry’s 26th-place finish on the Potomac was good enough to lead Skippy across the finish line 19 points ahead of the pack.
Explanation of team scoring
Points in the 2005 sponsor-team race were 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 FLW Tour’s Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year competition.
Final standings
Final overall standings for sponsor teams that competed on the 2005 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Kellogg’s – 782
2. BFGoodrich Tires – 781.67
3. 7 UP – 642.33
4. Fujifilm – 636.40
5. Tyson – 627
6. Castrol – 622.60
7. Chevy – 587.80
8. Snickers – 579.42
9. Land O’Lakes – 485
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Skippy – 879
2. Pedigree – 860
3. Banana Boat – 740
4. Weed Eater – 735
5. Wet Ones – 698
6. Ozark Trail – 679.50
7. Lawry’s – 678
8. Hawaiian Punch – 442
Potomac River results
Sponsor teams competed in the final regular-season event of the 2005 FLW Tour at the Potomac River near La Plata, Md., and results from that event have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Kellogg’s – 172.40
2. Fujifilm – 120.60
3. Snickers – 115
4. Chevy – 105.60
5. Tyson – 105.33
6. Castrol – 105
7. Land O’Lakes – 95
8. 7 UP – 92
9. BFGoodrich Tires – 74.67
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. Ozark Trail – 179
2. Skippy – 175
3. Pedigree – 166
4. Wet Ones – 162
5. Weed Eater – 135
6. Banana Boat – 91
7. Hawaiian Punch – 49
8. Lawry’s – 25
Other notable performances among sponsored anglers competing at the Potomac River include the following: Team Land O’Lakes’ Jerry Williams of Conway, Ark., who bagged an outstanding third-place finish; Team Castrol’s Carl Svebek III of Siloam Springs, Ark., who earned a remarkable 10th-place finish; Team Ozark Trail’s Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., who reeled in an enviable 12th-place finish; Team Chevy’s Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Ark., who landed a strong 15th-place finish; and Team Fujifilm’s Randy Blaukat of Lamar, Mo., who garnered a solid 18th-place finish.