Team In2Deep wins Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series event in Beaufort

Anglers net $21,000 in winnings in South Carolina-Georgia Division event

BEAUFORT, S.C. – Team In2Deep, headed by Kevin O’neale of Charleston, S.C., caught a kingfish weighing 36 pounds, 10 ounces Saturday to win the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series South Carolina-Georgia Division event in Beaufort, S.C., and $21,000 cash.

Rounding out the top five teams were Team King of Kings 2, captained by Bart Wetherington of Richmond Hill, Ga. (35 pounds, 3 ounces, $7,950); Team Marcia-D, captained by Perry Johnston of Oak Island, N.C. (33 pounds, $5,300); Team Reel Hooked, captained by Shane Hicks of Beaufort, S.C. (30 pounds, 13 ounces, $1,590); and Team Outdoor Demands, captained by Arthur Simmons of Columbia, S.C. (29 pounds, 6 ounces, $2,650).

The award for highest-finishing woman went to Michele Stroud of Charleston, S.C., who placed first with a 36-pound, 10-ounce kingfish as a member of Team In2Deep.

The award for the highest-finishing angler 16 years of age and under was Michael Hicks of Beaufort, S.C., who placed fourth with a king weighing 30 pounds, 13 ounces as a member of Team Reel Hooked.

FLW Kingfish Series qualifying tournaments are one-day events. Each team is allowed to weigh in one kingfish, and the winning team is determined by the heaviest fish.

The next South Carolina-Georgia Division event will be held Sept. 8 in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The FLW Kingfish Series consists of five divisions – East Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina-Georgia, Gulf and Upper Gulf. Each division is comprised of three events with a $100,000 purse for each event. The top three teams from each tournament and the top 16 teams (who are not already qualified) from each division after all qualifiers are complete will advance to the three-day, $275,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series Championship in Orange Beach, Ala., Oct. 4-6, which will be featured in a one-hour episode of “FLW Outdoors” broadcast to 80 million FSN (Fox Sports Net) households in the United States and more than 429 million households in Europe, Asia and Africa. The points champion from each division will also advance directly to the $500,000 no-entry-fee Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour Championship in Biloxi, Miss., Nov. 2-4, where they will compete against top FLW Kingfish Tour teams for a top award of $150,000.

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.

Wal-Mart and many of America’s largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world’s leading supporter of tournament fishing. For more information about Wal-Mart, visit Walmart.com.

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000.