While most Forrest Wood Cup qualifiers were practicing on Lake Murray last weekend, Steve Kennedy was fishing in upstate New York. The final qualifier of the BASS Elite Series season was held on Lake Oneida, some 14 hours north of Columbia, S.C., the site of the 2008 Forrest Wood Cup.

After day one on Oneida Kennedy was leading the tournament and after day two he was in fifth place. Elite Series tournaments begin on Thursday with competition ending on Sunday. Kennedy stumbled on day three, missed the top-12 cut and finished 19th. Assuming he and his wife drove straight through the night, Kennedy likely arrived in the Columbia area around 7 a.m. Sunday morning.

He might be exhausted, but he only missed one day of the official four-day practice period. Had he made the top-12 cutoff in New York, I would have taken him off my picks list. As it stands, I see him having a very strong tournament. Kennedy is a stick in the Southeast and nobody fishes harder than the Auburn football fanatic.