Virtual Championship 2006: Bracket 23
Opening round – Wendlandt vs. Ferguson
Virtual Championship 2006
Opening round – Bracket 23: Wendlandt vs. Ferguson
Another exciting season of tour-level pro bass fishing drew to a close in record-smashing fashion on Lake Champlain last month, leaving only the Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship on the horizon before 2006 is etched forever in the history books. FLWOutdoors.com will once again host its own “virtual championship” – a featured daily poll where readers can make their own picks and weigh in on who they think will be crowned champion during the Aug. 2-5 year-ending event on Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Ala.
In the days leading up to the championship, FLWOutdoors.com will ask readers to vote on who they think will advance in each of the daily bracket challenges (polls are located on the right-hand side of the FLW Outdoors and FLW Tour home pages). After each day’s votes are tabulated, the virtual championship bracket will be immediately updated to reflect the readers’ choices.
Will fishing fans correctly forecast the winner of this year’s championship? Vote each day to support your favorite qualified angler and to learn more about the 48 pros who will actually compete on Logan Martin Lake for a top prize of $500,000.
Today’s featured bracket matchup: Clark Wendlandt (No. 23) vs. Art Ferguson III (No. 26)
Clark Wendlandt – No. 23 seed: After a freakish 2005 season that saw Clark Wendlandt plunge down the leaderboard into unfamiliar territory, 2006 was a refreshing return to form for the well-known Leander, Texas, pro. Casting 2005 aside, Wendlandt has assembled one of the most lauded careers on the FLW Tour, and indeed, last season was the only season he did not make the championship. The two-time angler of the year is a threat anywhere he goes, and the last time the FLW Tour visited Logan Martin Lake – for the championship, no less – Wendlandt finish ninth. In fact, five of his 25 career top-10 finishes across all FLW Outdoors tournament trails have come on Alabama fisheries. Anyone paired against Wendlandt – anytime, anywhere – should be shaking in their boots.
Art Ferguson – No. 26 seed: Art Ferguson may have the undesirable position of fishing against Wendlandt, and he may be making his first-ever FLW Tour Championship appearance, but that by no means should indicate Ferguson is out of the game. The St. Clair Shores, Mich., pro has spread his success across four FLW Outdoors circuits as well as the BASS trail and has fared well in all of them, most notably the Stren Series, where he has finished third and second, respectively, the last two years in Midwest Division points standings. 2006 was his second full year of fishing the FLW Tour, and he earned three checks in the $10,000 range for performances like his 25th-place showing on Lake Champlain, a season high. Ferguson may be known as a Northern hot shot, but at the end of the day, he’s just a fisherman, and a darn good one at that.
Virtual Championship 2006 (click for complete details and poll results)
Wal-Mart FLW Tour Championship 2006 (click for more information)
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