Virtual Championship 2005: Bracket 2
Today’s matchup: J.T. Kenney, Michael Bennett, Mike Hawkes and Mark Rose
With the 2005 FLW Tour Championship quickly approaching, FLWOutdoors.com once again will be hosting our own version of the “virtual championship” – a featured daily poll where readers can make their own picks and weigh in on exactly who they think will be crowned champion during the July 13-16 year-ending event in Hot Springs, Ark. For the next two weeks or so, FLWOutdoors.com will be asking readers to vote each day on who they think will advance in each of the daily bracket challenges.
Polls are located in the lower right-hand corner of FLWOutdoors.com’s home page and in the same area of the FLW Tour page. After each day’s votes are tabulated, the virtual championship bracket will be immediately updated to reflect the readers’ choices. Full details of Virtual Championship 2005 are provided underneath the bracket.
Today’s featured four-man bracket matchup – J.T. Kenney, Michael Bennett, Mike Hawkes and Mark Rose
J.T. Kenney – No. 8 seed: A week ago, it appeared that the native of Frostburg, Md., would be holding the 2005 FLW Tour Angler of the Year trophy as well as the top seed in the FLW Championship. However, Kenney – who had been a fishing machine all year on the tour – hit a snag at the final event of the year. Sitting atop the year-end standing heading into the FLW Tour event on the Potomac River, Kenney stumbled on his home waters last week, turning in a disappointing 114th-place finish. However, despite his struggles on the Potomac, Kenney has proven that he can fish with the very best. With more than $243,00 in career earnings and 16 top-10 finishes in FLW Outdoors-related events – including an FLW Tour win on Lake Okeechobee in the very first FLW tourney of his career in 2002 – Kenney remains the odds-on favorite to emerge victorious in his four-man bracket.
Michael Bennett – No. 41 seed: Not to be confused with the starting running back of the Minnesota Vikings, Bennett is quietly in the process of carving out his own name in the angling world. In his rookie campaign on the FLW Tour in 2005, Bennett exceeded all expectations by capturing a berth in the championship in his very first year. To put things into perspective, Bennett will have a shot at fishing for the first-place prize of $500,000 at the FLW Tour Championship while big names such as Clark Wendlandt, Scott Martin, David Dudley, David Walker, Tommy Biffle, Mike Iaconelli, Rick Clunn, and Guido and Dion Hibdon will be watching the event on TV. Despite his rookie status, Bennett is no slouch, already amassing over $64,000 in his short FLW Outdoors career. In addition, Bennett added icing to the cake when he delivered an astonishing second-place finish at the 2005 FLW Tour event on Wheeler Lake.
Mike Hawkes – No. 17 seed: With two top-10 finishes on the FLW Tour this year alone, Hawkes hasn’t been in this good of a fishing groove since he finished 10th overall in the year-end standings in 2003. With $147,000 in career earnings in FLW Outdoors events in his career – including two second-place finishes in the EverStart Series in 2000 – the soft-spoken resident of Sabinal, Texas, could prove to be the true dark horse of this bracket.
Mark Rose – No. 32 seed: With four top-10 finishes on the FLW Tour, a top-10 finish at the Ranger M1 tournament in 2002, and over $200,000 in earnings and eight top-10 events in FLW Outdoors related events alone, it’s obvious that Rose won’t be taken lightly by any championship competitor. Throw in the fact that he currently hails from Marion, Ark., and it’s apparent that the choice of this year’s championship venue – Hot Springs, Ark. – couldn’t have suited him better. One of the nicest anglers on the tour, Rose is also one of the more dangerous competitors in the field. If a couple of things go his way and he catches a few breaks, Rose could be poised to run the table.
Virtual Championship 2005 bracket
Virtual Championship Bracket 1