Prilosec, PTSI preeminent sponsor teams
Duracell, PTSI end season the way it began – with wins
The Chevy Open on the Detroit River ended the regular season on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, bringing things full circle in sponsor-team competition. As it was in the beginning at the season opener, it was in the end at the closer, with teams Duracell and PTSI ruling the day. And ultimately reigning over the 2008 season as divisional champs are Prilosec and PTSI.
Hopefully none of the bass pros wearing Team Prilosec’s colors suffer from vertigo, as they held a view from the top of the Division I standings – or very near it – since the season began on Lake Toho in February. Even a disappointing eighth-place finish at the Detroit River couldn’t knock Prilosec off the Division I summit. Despite the Chevy Open stumble, the crowned ones still managed to end the season nearly 30 points ahead of runners-up Team Berkley.
Truth be told, other than Team Duracell’s stong beginning and end to the season, Berkley posed the only real threat to Prilosec’s Division I dominance. Following up Prilosec’s back-to-back event wins at stops No. 2 and 3, Berkley’s commanding victory at Beaver Lake put them atop the leaderboard and positioned them to take overall honors by season’s end. But Berkley bottomed out in the final two events of 2008, paving the way for Prilosec’s entry into the championship circle.
The story surrounding Team PTSI’s ascent to the top of Division II is quite different. Though the team hauled away a win from the season opener, they came from way behind to snatch victory from Team Wal-Mart, which had dominated the latter portion of the season with back-to-back wins before dramatically falling from grace in Motown. It took PTSI’s season-ending win – in combination with Wal-Mart’s last-place finish in Detroit – to set up the unlikely Division II victory. In fact, PTSI had to scale a 148-point deficit in the season’s waning moments to unseat Wal-Mart from leaderboard’s top slot.
But one of the most exciting aspects of sports is the inevitable ebb and flow of preeminence among competitors, and professional bass fishing is clearly no exception. And this year Prilosec and PTSI, in only their first and second seasons as FLW Tour sponsor teams, respectively, showed that victory is available to those who want it most.
The best of the best among the FLW Tour’s pros – including many sponsor-team anglers – will compete Aug. 14-17 in the Forrest Wood Cup for a shot at bass fishing’s only million-dollar payday. However, the Detroit River marked the end of the Tour’s regular season and thus the end of unofficial competition among sponsor teams until 2009 (read below for a Detroit River wrap-up).
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.
Overall results from the season plus results from the July 10-13 Detroit River event, as well as an explanation of team scoring, are detailed below:
Division I
Recharging Duracell’s batteries to close out the season was team standout Michael Bennett of Lincoln, Calif., who added yet another shining finish to his season, grabbing seventh place at the Chevy Open. The young pro ended the season ranked ninth overall among Tour pros and added the Detroit River top-10 to his list of accomplishments for the year, which included his first major victory at Lewis Smith Lake in April.
Rallying hard for its second event win of the season but falling short by less than 14 points was Team Pringles, led by Vic Vatalaro in the Motor City. The Kent, Ohio, pro was strong throughout the season – ending it with a No. 19 ranking – but his best finish came in Detroit, where he was the runner-up, missing the win by a scant 3 ounces.
Putting up big numbers for Division I season champs Prilosec were Koby Kreiger of Okeechobee, Fla., and Craig Powers of Rockwood, Tenn. Kreiger ended the season as the No. 24 ranked pro on the Tour, kickstarting the season for his team with 11th- and third-place finishes in the first two tournaments. Powers, ranked No. 43, pitched in a couple impressive finishes as well: sixth and 15th.
Division II
It was the fine fishing of 20th-ranked Ron Shuffield that paved the way for PTSI’s coup in Division II: He placed 15th at the Detroit River. The Bismarck, Ark., pro started the season with an amazing third-place finish and also offered up a strong 22nd-place finish midway through the season.
Only 10 points behind PTSI at the Detroit River was Team Iams, whose Chip Harrison of Bremen, Ind., paved the way for his sponsor’s best finish of the season by placing 25th.
Final standings
Final overall standings for sponsor teams competing on the 2008 FLW Tour have been tallied:
Division I (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Prilosec – 819.00
2. Berkley – 790.67
3. Pringles – 780.00
4. Castrol – 745.25
5. Kellogg’s – 711.80
6. National Guard – 704.14
7. BP – 702.38
8. Duracell – 699.00
9. Coppertone – 661.00
10. Chevy – 653.83
11. Land O’Lakes – 520.33
Division II (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. PTSI – 857.00
2. Wal-Mart – 839.00
3. Folgers – 803.00
4. Snickers – 786.00
5. Iams – 614.00
6. M&M’s – 554.50
7. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee – 518.00
8. Abu Garcia – 213.00
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, the Chevy Open on the Detroit River at Detroit, and results from that event have been tallied:
Division I – Detroit River (teams with three or more anglers)
1. Duracell – 157.33
2. Pringles – 143.67
3. Castrol – 142.50
4. BP – 126.38
5. Coppertone – 119.67
6. Kellogg’s – 117.40
7. National Guard – 115.00
8. Prilosec – 108.67
9. Chevy – 102.33
10. Berkley – 88.00
11. Land O’Lakes – 79.67
Division II – Detroit River (teams with fewer than three anglers)
1. PTSI – 186.00
2. Iams – 176.00
3. Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee – 134.00
4. Snickers – 99.00
5. M&M’s – 81.50
6. Abu Garcia – 78.00
7. Folgers – 69.50
8. Wal-Mart – 20.00
Other notable performances at the Detroit River among pro anglers on sponsored teams not already highlighted: Alvin Shaw outfished everyone with an amazing victory while representing Team Kellogg’s; Kim Stricker did Team Chevy proud at their namesake tourney, the Chevy Open, with an incredible fourth-place finish; J.T. Kenney was top dog for Team BP, offering up an outstanding fifth-place finish; and Team National Guard‘s offensive was led by 16th-place Brent Ehrler.