Snickers on top of FLW Tour sponsor teams
Leaders setting sights on Lake Murray tournament
Snickers satisfies. That claim currently applies to more than just people’s appetites; it could also describe the success of the candy-bar company’s professional angling team thus far on the 2003 Wal-Mart FLW Tour.
The pro anglers comprising Team Snickers reeled in enough points to stay ahead of the pack at both of the first two stops along 2003 FLW Tour tournament trail. Team Snickers out-fished 11 other sponsor teams competing at both Florida’s Lake Okeechobee and Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. Points in the 2003 sponsor-team race will be earned during the FLW Tour’s six qualifying events and monitored throughout the season.
The Snickers crew will enter the third competition of the season with a nearly 30-point lead over second-place Team Stanley. Anglers representing sponsor teams will mix it up with the rest of the pro field during the next FLW Tour event to take place March 12-15 on South Carolina’s Lake Murray.
Current overall standings include results from both FLW Tour events that have taken place so far this season. Sponsor-team standings are based on the average number of points earned by the anglers fishing for any given team as assigned in the FLW Tour’s Angler-of-the-Year competition:
1. Snickers – 303.75 points
2. Stanley – 274.5
3. Castrol – 252
4. Kellogg’s – 222.6
5. Fujifilm – 216.33
6. Banana Boat – 189
7. Lawry’s – 175
8. 7 Up – 174
9. Hellmann’s – 171
10. Land O’Lakes – 166
11. Skippy – 132
12. Lipton Sides – 60
Each of the dozen sponsor teams competed in the most recent FLW Tour tournament, which took place Feb. 12-15 on the Atchafalaya Basin, and results from that event have been tallied:
1. Snickers
2. Stanley
3. Kellogg’s
4. Castrol
5. Fujifilm
6. Banana Boat
7. Skippy
8. 7 Up
9. Land O’Lakes
10. Hellmann’s
11. Lawry’s
12. Lipton Sides
Snickers’ success this season is anchored in part by Pat Fisher’s fantastic finish at the season-opening tournament on Okeechobee. The Buford, Ga., angler earned top honors as well as a first-place check for $100,000 and 200 points in the FLW Tour’s Angler-of-the-Year race. Team Snickers angler John Sappington of Wyandotte, Okla., contributed significantly to the team total with a 21st-place finish at Atchafalaya.
Other standout performances from the last tournament among anglers on sponsored teams include Team Fujifilm’s Wes Thomas of Hanover, Ind., who netted a seventh-place finish; Team Stanley’s Jack Bell of Kane, Pa., who placed ninth; and Team Castrol’s David Dudley of Manteo, N.C., who came in 14th.
Current standings offer some surprises as well as some close races.
Fifth-place Team Fujifilm, which earned top honors by the end of the 2002 season, got edged out of the upper third of the leaders’ list after the last tournament at Atchafalaya.
The closest race involves the battle for seventh place. Eighth-place Team 7 Up is hot on the heels of Team Lawry’s with a razor-thin margin of only one point separating them. Other rankings separated by extremely slight margins include ninth-place Team Hellmann’s trailing 7 Up by three points and 10th-place Team Land O’Lakes following Hellmann’s by five points.
Links:
“FLW Tour Fujifilm pros finish atop 2002 year-end team standings”